The Hindu : Karnataka News : Special anti-polio drive in five districts on July 4

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 28, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Special anti-polio drive in five districts on July 4

By Sahana Charan

BANGALORE, JUNE 27. In an endeavour to prevent the polio mellitus virus from surfacing in the north Karnataka districts, specially after a case was reported in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh in May, a special mop-up Pulse Polio immunisation round will be conducted on July 4 in some parts of the State.

According to Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) officials, one polio case was reported in a fisherman's family in Srikakulam in Andhra Pradesh in May. The virus has been traced to Kurnool district of that State. Fearing that the virus may spread across the border to Karnataka through the migrant populace, the special immunisation round will be carried out in five districts: Koppal, Bagalkot, Gulbarga, Raichur and Bellary and in Pavagada taluk of Tumkur district.

These places are not only close to Andhra Pradesh, but are high-risk districts where polio occurrence has been reported earlier.

The authorities will target around 16 lakh children under the age of five for immunisation on the special Pulse Polio Day in these districts. "We will set up immunisation booths in all major locations in these districts on July 4 to administer polio drops to all children up to five years of age. The special immunisation round will be followed by a house-to-house campaign by health workers and volunteers to administer polio drops to those children who may not have been covered on the `booth day'," Kashi Reddy, RCH Director told The Hindu .

Around 72.2 lakh children are expected to be immunised in the five rounds of the Pulse Polio drive in the State this year, under the National Immunisation Programme. Three rounds have already been conducted and a Sub-National Immunisation Day was organised on May 9.

This year, so far only one case turned up in the State in February in Raichur district. Karnataka was polio-free in 2001 and 2002, but the disease raised it head again in 2003 when 36 cases resurfaced in Bellary, Koppal, Raichur and Gulbarga districts.

Owing to concerted efforts by various agencies, the incidence of polio has decreased.

This year, between January and May, only eight polio cases were reported throughout the country, compared to 1,600 cases in 2002.

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