The progress towards eradication of poliovirus globally is one of the greatest success stories of the global health community. When the Global Polio Eradication Initiative started in 1988, polio paralysed
Alerted by the detection of two new polio cases in Sindh, the provincial Expanded Programme on Immunisation has decided to intensify its operation and conduct a three-day sub-national immunisation campaign, beginning on March 4, throughout the province. Sindh EPI project director Dr Salma Kauser Ali told Dawn on Tuesday that the federal EPI and the WHO had agreed to bear the additional operational cost and ensure supply of the vaccines needed for the extension of the supplementary immunisation campaign. "Earlier we had planned the administration of anti-poliovirus drops in children up to five in areas including northern Sindh and Karachi, but now the whole of Sindh, except for the desert parts of Umerkot, Tharparkar and Sanghar districts, will be covered under the campaign,' she said. Replying to a question, she said polio workers and officials in Karachi were faced with a serious challenge of being a high-risk area as a couple of its towns, including Korangi, were being considered as exporters of the polio virus. Sindh has made considerable progress in eliminating polio from its limits, but there are 5-10 per cent of the deserving children who have been missed out during the immunisation campaigns. "We plan to reach about 6.5 million children during the planned campaigns, but we also expect supports from the community so that effective vaccines are administered to children on time,' Dr Ali added. WHO polio-eradication team leader in Pakistan Dr Nima Saeed Abid has said that coordination between the health sector and other departments needed to be optimised for an improved surveillance of the polio virus in Sindh. Dr Abid, who heads a group of WHO medical officers engaged in the polio-eradication programme of Pakistan, recently attended a monthly surveillance meeting of Sindh in the city. Various heads of the surveillance system on polio at the district level made presentations and discussed issues such as detection of a case of polio in Hyderabad and another in Nawabshah, capability and sensitivity of the surveillance system to detect all cases, missing cases, reduction or elimination of the gaps in the surveillance system, compatible cases and reasons behind them. Dr Abid told health officials about the observations made at a meeting of the technical advisory group (TAG) on polio- eradication recently held in Egypt, saying that genetic characteristics of some isolated viruses and surveillance field reviews indicated sub-optimal quality in some districts. The TAG meeting also noted that there had been significant progress in social mobilisation, while the quality of management, particularly in planning and supervision in some districts in the high-risk areas and discord between the coverage figures and virus circulation were the two components of the polio-eradication programme which were not reaching acceptable standards. Talking to Dawn after the Karachi review meeting, Dr Abid said there had been lapses in the programme and it was high time that they were rectified on a top priority basis. Maintenance of vaccines quality at the optimum level was also required through proper vaccine management, he said, adding that efforts should also be made to create public demands about both routine and supplementary polio immunisation drops. He stressed the management at district levels to ensure fool-proof surveillance and support for the polio-eradication programme. "Strong political commitment should be translated into action at the delivery level,' he added.
Following an intensified campaign launched by health department Kashmir 9.96 lakh children below 5 years age were administered Pulse Polio drops today in Kashmir division. For this purpose, an was launched across Kashmir division . In all, 5046 Pulse Polio booths were established with manpower of 20204 belonging to Health, Social Welfare, Education and Non-Governmental Organization besides Aashas. MLA Bandipora Usman Majid took off the pulse polio campaign by giving pulse polio drops to a newly born baby. The District Development Commissioner of Budgam Farooq Ahmad Renzu launched Pulse Polio campaign by administering pulse polio drops to the children early morning. The District Development Commissioner, Kupwara took off the campaign at Sub District Hospital Kupwara by giving pulse polio drops to the children. On this occasion, he said 1.24 lakh children of the district will be covered under the programme at 560 pulse polio centres for which 2240 officials were detailed on duty. In Srinagar and Ganderbal districts, Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr. Muzaffar Ahmad launched the campaign by administering pulse polio drops at Government Gousia Hospital Khanyar and Sub District Hospital, Ganderbal. He said 2928 officials of various departments were deployed on duty for 727 pulse polio centres established in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts. He said 35 mobile teams were also put into service to achieve the target. Director Health Services was accompanied by senior officers of Health and Family Welfare departments. In Pulwama and Shopian districts, 612 pulse polio centres with a manpower of 2448 officials were deployed to achieve the target of 1.12 lakh children under pulse polio campaign. Similarly, the pulse polio campaign was going apace in Anantnag, Kulgam, Baramulla, Bandipora, Leh and Kargil districts. In addition the department of Health Services had also made adequate arrangements in far-flung and border areas like Karnah, Keran, Matchil, Gurez and Uri. The Director Health said that 256 supervisory and mobile teams were monitoring the campaign across the division.
The Delhi chapter of Rotary International Club today declared that during the current year there no new cases of polio was reported in the national Capital. In the year 2007, two cases of polio were registered in Delhi and treated with help of the Rotary club. The polio has three categories
In what could prove to be a setback to the pulse polio campaign in this district, an infant died after he was administered polio drops at Kulan today. However, the health authorities, while admitting that polio drops were administered to the victim, have maintained that the child died due to pneumonia. The authorities have begun investigation in to the matter and sealed the vial from which the polio drops were administered to him.
The state health administration will carry out a door-to-door polio immunisation programme from February 11 to 13 in the wake of increasing reports about wild virus in various areas. Nomadic tribes and migrant labourers are target groups as they are carrying the wild polio virus.
Vaccination is one of medicine's greatest achievements, so why do so many people fear it? : a report
india's National Polio Surveillance Programme reported 471 polio cases until December 14, 2007. Although this is lower than the 676 cases reported in 2006, there is reason for concern. There has
the polio vaccine administered at present may be unsafe. There is a controversy brewing over its potency. Experts in India say that the monovalent oral vaccine (mopv1) is being used without
Jacob Puliyel and colleagues highlight the importance of ensuring appropriate ethical standards are adhered to in the course of scientific studies. In our study of the fi eld effi cacy of monovalent oral type 1 poliovirus vaccine (mOPV1), we analysed existing surveillance data from acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases collected since 1997. The vac cines assessed were licensed for adminis tration in India by the
We are shocked and dismayed that The Lancet should have published the paper on the protective efficacy of monovalent oral type 1 poliovirus vaccine by Nicholas Grassly and colleagues (April 21, p 1356),1 having overlooked the serious ethical issues. (Correspondence) involved.
