KARACHI: The World Health Organisation will launch a full-scale campaign to eradicate smallpox from Pakistan totally. The campaign will begin in East Pakistan next week and will be extended to Karachi within two months.

WHO experts have made a complete study of the magnitude of the smallpox problem in Pakistan and the hurdles they might face in its elimination. WHO experts have planned extensive vaccination against smallpox in cities as well as rural areas of both the wings. During the campaign, particular stress will be laid on the vaccination of new-borns. They estimate that with the vaccination of 40 million persons in East Pakistan and 30 million in the West, smallpox could be entirely eliminated from the country.

Smallpox has claimed 173 lives in Karachi during the last 16 months. In all, 403 smallpox victims were admitted to the Epidemic Diseases Hospital. About 80 per cent of the smallpox patients were found to be unvaccinated and except for 64 persons who had contracted the disease from outside Karachi all were locally infected. Experts believe that the incidence of smallpox was gradually increasing in Karachi.

The WHO expects to achieve global eradication of smallpox by 1967.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2018