Karnataka - Belgaum   

State will soon become `polio free': Minister

By Our Staff Correspondent

BELGAUM, APRIL 10. Karnataka will soon become a "polio free" State in the country, the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, N. Chelavaraya Swamy, has said.

Inaugurating the pulse polio immunisation programme (April 10 to May 15) at the district hospital here on Sunday, he said the 36 cases of polio were reported in the State in 2003. There was only one case reported from Devadurg in Raichur district in the following year.

If no cases of polio are reported for period of three successive years in a State, then it should be declared "polio free." The State Government was concerned and ambitious to get the status and is doing its best to make the immunisation programme a success. The staff of the Department of Health and government hospitals, and a large number of non-governmental organisations have been engaged to ensure that all children aged below five years are immunised. A greater awareness is needed in rural areas about polio eradication, he added.

`No cases'

Our Hubli Special Correspondent reports:

The Minister for Municipal Administration, S.R. Morey, said that no polio cases have been reported in Dharwad since October 1998.

Speaking at the pulse police inauguration in Hubli-Dharwad on Sunday, the Minister said that this could be achieved because of the constant vigil maintained by officials and awareness among the public about immunising their children against polio.

According to the District Health and Family Welfare Officer, A.C. Swamy, 2.20 lakh children will be vaccinated and 862 vaccination centres had been set up for the same. Forty-three mobile units have also been deployed, he said.

The Mayor, Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation, Mangalagouri Agnihotri, the principal of S.D.M. Medical College, Nirajnan Kumar; and the vice-president of Indian Red Cross, V.D. Karpurmath, were present.

72 lakh children immunised: Page 4

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State will soon become `polio free': Minister

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