Over 17 Crore Kids Administered Polio Drops Across India

More than 17 crore children below the age of five were administered polio drops across India today in a nationwide campaign against the disease.

The country did not report even a single new case of the disease during the last one year.

Poliomyelitis - About
Polio is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. It results in paralysis and generally affects people of all age groups, children being more susceptible

The union health and family welfare ministry had issued advertisements on the Pulse Polio campaign in the media and posters and banners were put up at booths, government schools, dispensaries and hospitals across the country.

In the capital, advertisements were also put up at Delhi Metro stations.

The campaign was launched Saturday by President Pratibha Patil and Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Immunization
Protect your child from various deadly diseases by giving the vaccinations at the right age. This tool helps you schedule the vaccinations of your child.

"It is indeed a remarkable achievement that for the last one year, the country has remained completely free from polio without witnessing even a single case," Azad said.

Special booths were established near the international border, including the Attari border in Punjab and the Munabao Railway Station in Barmer district of Rajasthan, to ensure that all children under five years coming from the neighboring country were also given polio drops.

World Polio Day - 'Stop Polio Forever'
Global polio eradication programs have significantly cut the incidence of the disease, yet it is an apt time to take stock of what remains to be done to ‘Stop Polio Forever’.

The country has spent more than Rs.12,000 crore on the Pulse Polio program. It took a lead in introducing bivalent polio vaccine in January 2010.

The last polio case in India was reported Jan 13, 2011, involving a two-year-old girl in West Bengal. In 2010, there were 42 cases, as compared to 741 in 2009, which accounted for nearly half of the world's polio cases. In 1991, there were 6,028 cases and in 1985 the number stood at 150,000.

Heroes of India's Polio Success Story
In February, India will be removed from the list of countries where polio is endemic

If no fresh case of polio is reported in India for another two years, it would be declared polio-free by the World Health Organization.

Source-IANS