HYDERABAD, Jan 23: The minister for health, Sindh, Ahsan Ahmed, here on Wednesday expressed satisfaction over the anti-polio campaign.

He visited village Lalu Mangwano, Alam Shah Ji Was, Ali Bux Mari and Matiari and some areas of Hyderabad and Latifabad to take notice of the anti-polio campaign.

While talking to the people, he said that during the three-day campaign, launched in selected union councils of Karachi, Hyderabad, Jaccobabad, Larkana, Ghotki, Thatta, Badin, Dadu, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar, 4.5 million children would be administered the polio drops.

He said that due to the awareness among the people, there was a positive response from the parents.

The minister said that polio cases in Sindh during one year had decreased by 57 per cent and added polio would be completely eradicated from the province by Dec 31, 2002. He, however, feared that due to the migration of people from Punjab and Afghanistan to Karachi, Hyderabad and other areas, the transmission of the polio virus could not be ruled out.

He said that more than one and a half dozen polio cases had been reported in Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan. Under the circumstances, he said, the outbreak of polio would have to be checked.

When asked about the death of two children due to the administration of Vitamin-A capsules, as claimed by the former director general, health, Sindh, EDO, health, Hyderabad, Dr Qadir Bux Memon, and project director, EPI, Sindh, Dr Shamsun Nissa Ansari, he denied that any such case had been reported.

Answering another question, he said the summary of about 250 doctors, working under the school health service programme, had been submitted to the governor.

The doctors of school health would be posted in the health centres and hospitals of their own district of domicile and the orders for their postings would be issued within two weeks, he said.