Polio down by 90 pc,focus shifts to Bengal

Persistence of poliovirus transmission in the state risks spread to other parts of the country through the large migratory populations and threatens the unprecedented progress made in the polio endemic states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, said Dr Hamid Jafari,Project Manager,WHO-National Polio Surveillance Project.

In Maharashtra,officials hope to keep the slate clean as it has been this year. The state had detected five cases last year out of which four were from Malegaon in Nashik district. While 70 per cent of the 4.5 lakh population are Muslims,the focus is back again on educating the families who refuse to give their child a shot against polio.

The number of such families who refused to immunise their children has gone up since the last four immunisation rounds and,ahead of the sub-national immunisation round which will be carried out in high risk areas across the country on April 3,WHO officers and health department officials along with Muslim intellectuals are trying their best to change the mindset of these refusal families.

In the recent round held on February 27 as many as 1020 families refused to vaccinate their child against polio,says Dr Bharat Wagh,Medical Officer of Health,Malegaon Municipal Corporation. In the January 23 round,a total of 966 families had refused the vaccination while on December 19 last year,the total number of Muslim families who had rejected the pulse polio dose was 947. On October 24 last year too there were 623 families who had refused the dose.