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India tops world polio tally in 2009, with 45 pc cases……….Sanchita Sharma
NEW DELHI: India topped the world’s polio charts with 703 cases in 2009, up from 559 in 2008. This means almost half — 45 per cent — of the global total of 1,548 polio cases occurred in India.
In 2008, Nigeria had 798 cases, the highest in the world, but it succeeded in halving the numbers to 388 in 2009.
The silver lining is that India did not export the virus to any other country this year. “In 2008, there was cross-border transmission into Nepal and long-distance importation into Angola.
In 2009, there was none,” said Dr Hamid Jafari, project manager, World Health Organisation-National Polio Surveillance Project.
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar continued to be the roadblocks to eradication, accounting for over 97 per cent of India’s numbers.While Uttar Pradesh reported 571 cases, Bihar had 114.
“Although the total number of cases in 2009 is more, India is making steady gains towards eradication. The geographic scope of both poliovirus type 1 and type 3 has been reduced further in 2009. In 2008, poliovirus type 1 cases were reported from eight states and poliovirus type 3 from 10 states.
In contrast in 2009, poliovirus type 1 and type 3 have been reported from six states,” said Jafari.
The problem, say experts, is not with the natational programme, as the quality of the immunisation campaign is high.
“Over 95 per cent children are immunised. It is high birth rate — half a million babies born in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar every month — malnutriton and poor sanitation conditions that prevent a child from building immunity that help transmission,” said a health ministry official who did not want to be named as he is not authorised to sepak to the media. |