QUETTA: A special eight-day campaign of injectable polio vaccine (IPV) will begin in four major Afghan refugee camps in Chagai district of Balochistan on Monday.

Provincial coordinator of polio programme Dr Syed Saifur Rehman said on Sunday that the IPV campaign would help in controlling the spread of the crippling disease in the refugee camps.

He said at least 6,830 children of age from four to 23 months would be injected the vaccine. Children below 23 months of age were most vulnerable to poliovirus, he said, adding that more than 85 per cent cases of polio were reported from this age group.

The special campaign is being launched by the government of Balochistan with the support of its partners.

The first polio case of Balochistan this year was reported from Quetta in February when 30-month-old Mohammad Akram was diagnosed with poliovirus.

Dr Rehman said the child had missed the IPV campaign last year.

He said five children in Quetta and one in Qilla Abdullah who became victim of polio in 2015 had not received the IPV.

Dr Rehman said efforts were being made to strengthen 32 permanent transit points for polio vaccination in Balochistan. Five of these points are along the Afghan border, 14 on Balochistan’s borders with other provinces and 13 at airports.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2016