11-01-2005, 03:35 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Is Health Ministry jumping the gun to declare India polio-free?</b>
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
Is the battle against polio won? The Health Ministry is optimistic. But independent experts are not sure. The Government and reporting agencies differ on number of polio cases reported so far.
"The country will soon be free of polio. Only 30 cases have been reported till mid-September this year," said an official release on Monday.
The latest data accessed from National Polio Surveillance Project show at least 44 cases of polio till September. Of these, Uttar Pradesh reported 22 and Bihar 20 new polio cases. "Transmission of the virus ebbs only after October. So the numbers will rise when data for the month is factored in," experts said.
Compared with 2003 (225 cases) and 2004 (134 cases), there are fewer incidence of polio, even in western Uttar Pradesh where the virus circulated widely. During the high-transmission period between March and August, there were 20 cases compared with 82 cases in 2003 and 56 in 2004. In a departure from earlier rounds, monovalent vaccines were used to tackle P1 strain.
To attain a zero-polio certificate, India has to keep the level of new polio cases below 30 every year. Health Ministry hoped that the level would be reached in 2004, but Bihar and Uttar Pradesh disappointed health workers. Experts with the National Polio Surveillance Project believe that India is on its way to complete the task this year. The virus has been cornered in the smallest geographic areas.
The newer cases have come from Etah, Ferozabad, Badaun, Bareilly, Rampur, Aligarh, Agra and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. Whereas in Bihar, these range from Araria, Purnia, Samastipur, Patna, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur, Madhepur, Katihar, Siwan and East Champaran. Despite being the focus of global efforts to eradicate polio, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have not exhibited the zeal to immunise children. In key areas, states have not even appointed chief medical officer and supervision is lax.
Of the three types of polio causing viruses, type 2 virus has already been eliminated. During 2004 and 2005, type 3 virus has been restrained and limited to 4 districts of Moradabad, Rampur, Shajahanpur and Bareilly in Western UP. The P1 type virus is very virulent and remains the main cause of polio.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yesterday,US announced news polio cases in Amish villages.
Pioneer News Service / New Delhi
Is the battle against polio won? The Health Ministry is optimistic. But independent experts are not sure. The Government and reporting agencies differ on number of polio cases reported so far.
"The country will soon be free of polio. Only 30 cases have been reported till mid-September this year," said an official release on Monday.
The latest data accessed from National Polio Surveillance Project show at least 44 cases of polio till September. Of these, Uttar Pradesh reported 22 and Bihar 20 new polio cases. "Transmission of the virus ebbs only after October. So the numbers will rise when data for the month is factored in," experts said.
Compared with 2003 (225 cases) and 2004 (134 cases), there are fewer incidence of polio, even in western Uttar Pradesh where the virus circulated widely. During the high-transmission period between March and August, there were 20 cases compared with 82 cases in 2003 and 56 in 2004. In a departure from earlier rounds, monovalent vaccines were used to tackle P1 strain.
To attain a zero-polio certificate, India has to keep the level of new polio cases below 30 every year. Health Ministry hoped that the level would be reached in 2004, but Bihar and Uttar Pradesh disappointed health workers. Experts with the National Polio Surveillance Project believe that India is on its way to complete the task this year. The virus has been cornered in the smallest geographic areas.
The newer cases have come from Etah, Ferozabad, Badaun, Bareilly, Rampur, Aligarh, Agra and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. Whereas in Bihar, these range from Araria, Purnia, Samastipur, Patna, Nalanda, Muzaffarpur, Madhepur, Katihar, Siwan and East Champaran. Despite being the focus of global efforts to eradicate polio, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have not exhibited the zeal to immunise children. In key areas, states have not even appointed chief medical officer and supervision is lax.
Of the three types of polio causing viruses, type 2 virus has already been eliminated. During 2004 and 2005, type 3 virus has been restrained and limited to 4 districts of Moradabad, Rampur, Shajahanpur and Bareilly in Western UP. The P1 type virus is very virulent and remains the main cause of polio.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yesterday,US announced news polio cases in Amish villages.