By IANS
New Delhi : Despite a pat on the back of the Indian government from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its sustained polio immunisation drive, the disease that leaves people handicapped has surfaced in Orissa after a gap of three years, while Delhi has reported its first case of the year.
Though Delhi reported seven cases of polio in 2006, it was free from the virus in the last nine months. Recently, a three-year-old child from northeast Delhi was detected with polio.
Both the union health ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have confirmed the case. The child, Arbaz Khan of the Sri Ram Colony in Shahdara, can barely crawl now.
“We have received the report of one case in Delhi, but it is a case of the wild polio P3 virus. I think the family was staying in Uttar Pradesh sometime back and he could have contracted it from there,” said a health ministry official.
“The floating population, especially those coming from western Uttar Pradesh, is potential carriers of the virus as the region continues to report the maximum number of cases in the country,” he said.
Speaking about the reported case in Orissa, he said: “The case in Delhi and Orissa are not much different. Both of them are wild cases and there is nothing to worry much.”
However, authorities did not give details about the case reported in Orissa. They said rather than focusing on one odd case, people should look at the broad spectrum.
In 2006, there were 676 cases but this year the country has reported only 281 cases. Like last year, most of the cases are limited to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Some other sates have reported scattered cases.
Of the 281 cases reported this year, 223 cases are in Uttar Pradesh and 40 in Bihar. Andhra Pradesh has reported five cases, Uttarakhand four and Haryana three in 2007.
Maharashtra has reported two cases of polio. Rajasthan, Gujarat, Orissa and Delhi have reported one case each during the year.
Of the 676 cases detected in India last year, 548 cases were from Uttar Pradesh and 61 were from Bihar.
“We are conducting another round of polio immunisation drive towards the end of this month and the process will continue till we wipe out the virus in India.
“We hope people from all social and religious section must come out to give their kid polio drops. Unless, people cooperate no movement can achieve success. If some people are left out then they become potent source of polio virus and may spread it in future,” the health official said.
Meanwhile, global health watchdog WHO has expressed satisfaction over effective immunisation measures and the subsequent decline in polio cases in India and hoped India will be polio free soon.
WHO director general Margaret Chan last month congratulated India for its polio eradication drive, which has “achieved the desired effect in the last six months”.
“I am confident that India will soon become polio-free and attain a historic milestone,” Chan had said.
The WHO director general also praised India for substantially eradicating the most virulent Type-1 poliovirus this year.
“I want to reassure you that the strategic focus on combating Type-1 poliovirus, even while there is a focal outbreak of Type-3 polio in some districts this year, has been effective.
“Polio in India is now primarily restricted to a few districts in two states, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and there has been a sharp decline in the number of Type-1 polio cases in 2007,” Chan said.