As Pakistan continues to witness an increase in poliovirus, Interim Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan has said 90 per cent of cases in the country were “imported from Afghanistan”. His remarks come after two more samples tested positive for the poliovirus in the country, just a day after this year’s third case surfaced.
According to an official at the polio laboratory of the National Institute of Health, sewage samples collected from Dera Bugti, in Balochistan, and Peshawar had tested positive for the virus. Both viruses, found in sewage samples, are similar to Afghanistan’s poliovirus.
Speaking about the rising number of polio cases in an interview, the health minister said: “Our surveillance is optimal.
“Of the 34 samples that we have received, 90pc have come from Afghanistan … our own are even less than 10pc,” he said.
Dr Jan highlighted that this was dangerous and stressed the need for vaccination. “Otherwise, the imported virus will keep circulating and eventually become our own,” he warned.
Talking about the recent cases reported in KP, the minister said they were the result of refusal to administer polio vaccines. Dr Jan also said that the government has commenced efforts to end the business of fake medicines. He stated that a system for checking barcodes of medicines had been prepared but there were certain challenges pertaining to its implementation.
According to the minister, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan and the Health Department were playing their part in preventing the sale of fake medicines.
“There are some lapses … but we have begun efforts to eliminate [the network of fake medicines] but the solution is to empower the public,” he said, adding that crackdowns had begun on the malpractices.
In response to a question regarding the health ministry’s role in the return of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Dr Jan said it was a political matter. “We will 100pc follow what the law and Constitution says,” he added.
