25 March 2011
Kolkata, India
"West Bengal had eight polio cases in 2010. And the first and only polio case in the country in 2011 is from the state. This is a setback to our initiative for polio eradication. We have identified 222 areas under various municipalities and gram panchayats across nine districts, including areas under two boroughs in Kolkata, as vulnerable. We urge the media to respond to the need of the hour and play a stakeholder’s role in eradicating polio," Manabendra Nath Roy, additional chief secretary, said on Wednesday during a media meet on polio eradication in West Bengal.
West Bengal is one of the polio endemic states. The only polio case in the country in 2011 was reported on January 13 from Howrah’s Panchala block with an 18–month–old girl found infected by P1 virus, a strain known to cause massive outbreak. P1 is found in sewerage of Delhi. High density of population, migration, poor sanitation and resistance to vaccine have been cited as challenges.
"Resistance has been a big challenge during immunisation with about 5000 families in Howrah resisting. Every child in the country needs to be immunised in order to eradicate polio," said Lori Calvo, Unicef chief of the field office in West Bengal. Unicef is a partner of West Bengal government in polio surveillance. Other partners are Who’s National Polio Surveillance Project (NPSP) and Rotary International. The next round of week–long immunisation programme kicks off on March 27.
Out of the 42 polio cases reported in 2010 across India, seven were from Murshidabad while one was from Birbhum. The new case from Howrah has made West Bengal the only state with continuing transmission of the virus. Therefore the state government has taken up all steps to intensify the immunisation drive.
Disclaimer: The news story on this page is the copyright of the cited publication. This has been reproduced here for visitors to review, comment on and discuss. This is in keeping with the principle of ‘Fair dealing’ or ‘Fair use’. Visitors may click on the publication name, in the news story, to visit the original article as it appears on the publication’s website.
