KARACHI, Sept 21: The Sindh Health Department has embarked upon a comprehensive plan to train lady health workers (LHWs) across the province to strengthen its routine immunization offered under EPI programme across the country.

Dr Qadir Bakhsh Kadwani, Director General of the Sindh health department, responding to the data presented during the International Surveillance Review of Acute Fallacid Paralysis (AFP) cases reported in Sindh during the current year said efforts were under way to streamline routine immunization programme, with particular reference to polio, through maximum involvement of health-care providers at varied levels.

He mentioned that 31,500 LHWs had already been trained and were presently engaged in their respective catchment areas.

Trained LHWs were said to be actively involved in providing vaccination and relevant services under routine as well as during National Immunization and Sub national Immunization Days.

“LHWs are also developing linkages between children and area health care units to ensure that no kids is missed out,” Dr Kadwani said.

This was said to be particularly important as Sindh has reported no fewer than 26 cases of conformed polio till date against 41 in the year 2002.

Meanwhile, the two-day exercise of International Surveillance Review, jointly organized by the World Health Organization and the Sindh Health department, was largely participated by representatives from UNICEF, JICA, Rotary International, WHO representatives from Geneva, EMRO, Pakistan and Sindh respectively, National Institute of Health, EDOs and medical officers from districts scattered around the province.

Dr Imtiaz Mughal, project director, EPI-Sindh, elaborating the data presented during the first day of the exercise said against the expected number of 157 AFP cases (which could be due to varied factors other than polio) the number of reported AFP cases came to 387 during the present year.

“Of the 387 reported cases of AFP 26 were proven to be of Wild Virus ie polio, and were confirmed through proper laboratory tests,” he said.

According to him there were also two compatible cases, while non-polio AFP rate came to 3.4 and 90 per cent fulfilled the adequate stool criterion compared to 98 per cent arrival rate of these samples to the labs within 72 hours.

Dr Mughal also mentioned that Entro Virus cases, i.e non-polio, of detected AFP incidents came to 20 per cent and residual weakness among children detected as possible cases of AFP appeared to be 49 per cent.

Dr Laila Rizvi of UNICEF, Prof D.S.Akram and Prof Iqbal Memon and some 50 district surveillance coordinator and surveillance officers were also present on the occasion.—APP