LAHORE: Members of a high-powered committee spent two days in Chakwal district, under taking field visits to investigate a polio case detected there recently and prepared their findings for a case response.

The committee was headed by Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Special Secretary (Operations) Muhammad Iqbal, while Punjab Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) coordinator and head of the polio programme, Khizer Afzaal, was also its part.

Presiding over a meeting here on Monday, Mr Afzal said the findings of the committee would help determine scope of the case response and prevent recurrence of polio cases in Punjab. International polio eradication partners also participated in the meeting.

He told the meeting that the committee members collected important information which helped ascertain facts leading to the polio case.

Finds affected child recovering fast due to regular vaccination

“The findings of the committee will go a long way in preventing recurrence of polio cases and form the basis of a case response in the area”, the Punjab EOC coordinator added.

He said that Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Ali Jan Khan also joined the team in the village to supervise the investigations and meet the polio-affected child, his family and other stakeholders on the instructions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

Mr Afzaal expressed his satisfaction that the polio-affected child was recovering fast. He attributed his quick recovery to excellent vaccination history. He confirmed that the child had received OPV and three routine immunisation dozes.

He said that during the visit of the committee it was found that some Afghan people and seasonal nomads were residing within five kilometers of the house of the index case. He also confirmed the child’s vaccination record was verified from EPI card and permanent EPI register.

In Chakwal, he said, vaccination of high-risk group children against the overall target had increased from 5.4 per cent in January 2023 National Immunization Days (NIDs) to 6.8 percent in February 2024 NIDs.

He expressed his satisfaction with post-campaign monitoring results’ trend in Chakwal, which suggested improvement in the campaign’s quality with an increase in pass percentage from 50 percent in NIDs October, 2023 to 100 percent in February, 2024 NIDs.

However, the EOC coordinator said that Punjab’s polio eradication landscape was challenged by continuous internal and cross border movement from infected districts, which is causing importation of polio virus.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2024