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India-Pakistan |
Propaganda reigns: Five more polio cases in KP as tally reaches 53 |
2019-08-08 |
[DAWN] Amid propaganda against polio![]() vaccine and frequent refusals by parents to inoculate their children against the virus, five more polio cases in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were confirmed on Tuesday. When contacted, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Babar Bin Atta said: "It has been learnt that none of them was vaccinated during polio campaigns and routine immunisation. Unfortunately, since the incident of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ![]() [in April], we have been facing severe resistance from parents. They have kept markers at their houses and manage to avoid vaccination by marking the fingers of their children on the very first day of polio campaign." With the latest addition, the number of polio cases climbed to 53 this year, far more than the last year figure of 12. In a sharp contrast, only eight cases were confirmed in 2017. The five new victims, including two girls, belonged to Bannu, North Wazoo and Charsadda, with the youngest of them only 22 months old. An official of Polio Virology Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH), requesting anonymity, said three cases were reported from Bannu and one each from North Waziristan and Charsadda. |
Posted by:Fred |