PESHAWAR, Sept 11: International experts are of the opinion that Pakistan has a good chance of eradicating polio virus during the current year as the number of polio cases has declined from 30,000 in 1994 to just 13 till July 2006 under a polio eradication programme.

Before initiation of the National Immunisation Days (NIDs) programme in 1997, polio cases in Pakistan were estimated to be about 30,000 as routine immunisation at that time was low, says a press release issued here by Unicef.

With the introduction of national immunisation days, the number of cases decreased rapidly to 1,147 in 1997 which was one quarter of the total global cases. This number further decreased to 558 in 1999.

To strengthen routine immunisation, a regular house to house vaccination campaign was started in 2000 which helped in decreasing the number of polio cases year after year to only 53 in 2004 and 28 in 2005.

In 2006 the downward trend in polio infection continued and so far only 13 cases have been reported from across the country, two in the Punjab, four in the NWFP, six in Balochistan and one in Sindh.

In the NWFP, two polio cases were reported in Bannu and one each in D I Khan and Dir Lower districts. As all these districts are very close to Afghanistan and there is regular cross-border movement, these cases are believed to be of Afghan origin.

Many countries have become polio free as a result of the global commitment to eradicate this disease. Now only four countries—Nigeria, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan—have polio patients.

Delay in eradication of polio in Nigeria and India was caused by rumours spread among Muslim population that the vaccine was not safe.

The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) having been convinced of safety and quality of OPV (Oral Polio Vaccines) adopted more than one resolutions calling on its member states to strengthen their eradication efforts by using OPV. The Polio vaccine used in Pakistan is the same that was used in 50 other Muslim countries. The OPV vaccines meet the specifications set by the International Expert Committee on Biological Standardisation (ECBS) with respect to purity of content.

Several Fatwas (religious verdicts) were issued by Muslim Scholars, including the grand Imam of El-Azhar Al-Sharif, the International Union for Muslim Scholars, Mufti of Egypt Maulana Fazal ur Rahman, Dr Yousaf Al Qaradawi, Chairman, European Council for Fatwa and Research, Member of Fiqh Assembly of the World Muslim League together with a number of Scholars from Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Mauritania, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.—APP