KARACHI: A senior federal government official on Friday warned that the poliovirus could lethally strike the country next year again and create more difficulties if ongoing efforts failed to root out the crippling disease.

Federal secretary for national health services Mohammad Ayub Shaikh presided over a meeting in the commissioner house attended by which several officials of the provincial health department, city administration and related departments.

The meeting participants were informed that a grand effort across the country was under way to eradicate the poliovirus, yet it needed a lot of efforts and commitment to achieve the desired result.

A press statement issued by the city commissioner office quoted him as saying that polio lethality could amplify by 10 times if sincere efforts with effective measures were not taken.

“If our efforts to eradicate the poliovirus from our environment do not succeed and the related departments failed to work effectively, we ought to worry that this virus will spread next year with more drastic consequences,” Mr Shaikh warned.

He referred to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s instructions for taking all possible measures to defeat the disease.

He said that the federal government had decided to support provincial efforts with its resources to provide security during polio campaigns.

Islamabad was aware of difficulties vis-à-vis security faced by the authorities and volunteers during campaigns in 11 high-risk union councils blamed for producing all 23 polio cases in Karachi last year, he added.

The meeting participants were informed that DIG of rapid response force Aftab Pathan would head security arrangements during the polio campaigns and Islamabad would support the provincial government’s efforts with all possible means.

City commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui said polio teams were busy in their work despite all difficulties with full devotion.

He said the authorities were trying to vaccinate every child in the targeted neighbourhoods against polio.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2015

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