KARACHI, March 24: The health department officials and their minister were caught in surprise on Wednesday when the visiting Eastern Mediterranean region chief of WHO revealed that Sindh had reported the first polio case of 2004.

Speaking at a press conference, WHO Regional Director Dr Hussein A. Gezairy said that Sindh did not have any case of polio since the inception of new year, but his representatives informed him lately on Tuesday that a case had been reported from Gaddap.

He said though occurrence of the polio case was not a catastrophe, it called for ascertaining the reasons behind it and undertaking special immunization arrangements for the areas involved. It was likely that the polio virus had generated outside Sindh and transmitted from Punjab or Afghanistan, he apprehended.

A few minutes before his remarks, the newly-inducted Minister for Health, Naeem Ishtiaq, had said that the province had achieved the 'zero level' and no new case had been confirmed so far in 2004.

He had stated that there existed political commitment and inter-sectoral collaboration and joint efforts by the WHO, the UNICEF, health department, NGOs and other welfare organizations, which would surely contribute towards making Sindh free of polio by the end of 2004.

During 2003 a total of 29 polio cases were reported in Sindh, which included 24 those reported in the first six months, while remaining five were reported in the last six months, which was considered high transmission season for the disease, said a WHO report.

Talking about the overall situation of polio cases, Dr Hussein A. Gezairy, said that there were six countries in the region, including Pakistan, Afghanistan and Egypt, where situation had improved. However, he added, there was still room for further improvement in quality of immunization campaign and social mobilization.

He said that Egypt had not reported any polio case during the last eight months, while Pakistan had reported five of the thirty five reported worldwide. He said that in 1988 Pakistan reported 15,000 polio cases, while in 2003 the figure was down to 103.

"If we want to zero the figure or sustain the existing figures we would have to strengthen the quality of the campaign in the weak areas," he added, saying that routine immunization was failing to cover the entire children or areas.

Though the intensity of wild polio virus had decreased and cases were not missed due to adequate surveillance, there was need to have follow ups and supplementary activities, and to have social and political mobilization exercises at different levels, he mentioned.

Dr Gezairy said that benefits of vaccination was not only for a child but for the whole community to which he or she belonged. He pointed out that people should support for polio eradication as it was an effort to serve not only their children, but children of Pakistan and children of the world.