08-03-2006, 06:55 PM
<b>India facing polio outbreak in poor northern state</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Uttar Pradesh has recorded 121 cases of the disease this year - 80 of those in the past three months - up from 29 cases in 2005, said Dr L B Prasad, the state's Director General of Health.
About 75 per cent of the cases were among Muslims, he said.
One of the epicenters of the outbreak is the industrial town of Moradabad, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from New Delhi, where there have been 41 reported cases.
<b>"There is a polio outbreak in Muslim dominated localities and it is spreading to neighbouring districts,"</b> Prasad said
Hasan said many <b>Muslims in northern India believe the vaccination drops can make their children impotent and sterile </b>- a myth that also hampered vaccination efforts in other predominantly Muslim areas of the world<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
About 75 per cent of the cases were among Muslims, he said.
One of the epicenters of the outbreak is the industrial town of Moradabad, about 75 kilometers (47 miles) from New Delhi, where there have been 41 reported cases.
<b>"There is a polio outbreak in Muslim dominated localities and it is spreading to neighbouring districts,"</b> Prasad said
Hasan said many <b>Muslims in northern India believe the vaccination drops can make their children impotent and sterile </b>- a myth that also hampered vaccination efforts in other predominantly Muslim areas of the world<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->