Anti-polio campaign underway in 49 districts of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A varied duration anti-polio campaign began in forty-nine selected districts of Pakistan on Monday.

During the special campaign, more than 9.5 million children under five years of age will be administered anti-polio vaccine drops.

The campaign includes sixteen districts of Balochistan, eleven districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sixteen districts of Sindh and six districts of Punjab.

According to sources, Balochistan aims to vaccinate 9 lakh children, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 13 lakh, Sindh 27 lakh, Punjab 44 lakh, and Islamabad 1.33 lakh.

Door-to-door polio campaign is being conducted in specific Union Councils of Islamabad.

This campaign is launched in view of increasing polio cases in Balochistan.

According to National Command and Operation Center this campaign is being conducted in the areas where poliovirus continuously exists.

Eight polio cases have been reported in the country so far this year.

On Saturday, poliovirus was detected in sewage samples of seven districts across Pakistan.

According to sources, the Type-1 Wild Poliovirus was found in sewage lines whereas the number of positive sewage samples has risen to 203 in 2024.

The affected districts include Islamabad, Quetta, Nasirabad, Karachi, Peshawar, and Gujranwala, where the poliovirus has been detected in their sewage, sources adde