Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir on Saturday dispelled reports about a polio case in the province’s Mandi Bahauddin district, adding that the reportedly affected child was in good health and moving around with no issues.
Two new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 were confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) on February 27. The lab detected the cases in Kambar in Sindh and Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab.
NIH collaborates with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on viral diagnostics and operates the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio.
Addressing reporters in the city of Malakwal today, Nazir said he came to the city on the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif to check on the reportedly infected child, an 8-year-old girl named Mahnoor. “This girl is perfectly healthy,” he clarified, standing alongside her.
“I request that the WHO officials update their protocols and resolve any flaws,” he added. “This girl has been properly vaccinated, and her mother keeps records. She has been vaccinated for polio, with additional vaccinations in Gujranwala.”
The provincial health minister added that it is wrong to “attach stigmas” to children, whom he described as “delicate”. He also asked the girl if she was willing to go on a run with him, to which she replied in the affirmative.
Dawn.com has reached out to NIH for comment.
In response to a question about the polio eradication campaign in Punjab, the minister said that staff ranging from commissioners to polio workers are “working day and night”.
“We have a state-of-the-art campaign ongoing,” he replied. “Our vaccination system in Punjab only achieved a target of 68 per cent in the previous term. Within a year under Maryam Nawaz’s leadership, we have achieved a target of 90pc.
“We want to see this target reach 101pc, but we need the support of the media and the community,” Nazir added.
The minister added that he had visited hospitals in the area and noted a lack of medical personnel. He said that the provincial government would not be at ease until patients stopped travelling to Lahore and received treatment in cities across Punjab.
“We intend to bring in more initiatives like ‘Clinic on Wheels’ and neighbourhood doctors, because girls like Mahnoor have a bright future ahead of them.