LANDI KOTAL: In pursuance of global polio eradication initiative and Pakistan’s national emergency action plan to stop wild poliovirus transmission in Pakistan once and for all, vaccination of every person crossing Pak-Afghan border at Torkham will start on March 25.

EOC coordinator Kamran Ahmed Afridi said travellers of all age groups crossing the border would be vaccinated by the transit teams of both countries with the purpose to interrupt poliovirus circulation in the region.

“We are close to polio eradication target and now this decision by the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to start all-age vaccination on Torkham crossing will help contain virus circulation in the region,” he added.

He said poliovirus mostly infected children but adults could also be the carriers and caused poliovirus transmission from one place to another, so all-age vaccination was a step forward to put an end to the virus movement across the borders.

The coordinator said Khyber tribal district had remained high priority tier one district as it was polio endemic area with movement of high-risk mobile population, having history of giving higher number of cases in the past.

“While it is also located adjacent to Peshawar that has also been continuously marked as polio reservoir area and frequently been found a source of virus circulation in the region,” he said.

Khyber district is tier one district hosting movement of around 14,000 travellers daily across the border.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2019