Polio Day: Must identify areas with low polio vaccination coverage, say experts

Even as India celebrates a decade of being poliofree it is important to identify areas with low polio vaccination coverage to protect children from the devastating disease and pave the way for a healthy future said experts on World Polio Day on October 24World Polio Day is celebrated on October 24 every year to raise awareness about polio a viral disease that mainly affects children below the age of fiveIndia has achieved a significant milestone in eradicating polio with the country declared free of polio by the World Health Organization in 2014However polio remains a threat and the pace of the polio vaccine has also slowed down in India with the coverage levels being poorest in the northeast as seen in recent data from the National Family Health SurveyThis is also reflected in the recent case in August where a twoyearold child in Meghalayas West Garo Hills district was confirmed to have a case of vaccinederived poliovirus VDPVEarlier in 2022 an immunodeficiencyrelated vaccinederived poliovirus iVDPV specimen was detected in Kolkata through routine surveillance though this did not equate to a case of polio in the arealdquoGiven the high vaccination coverage in India these detections do not result in increased cases of polio However there is concern that if vaccination rates decline the polio viruses could reenter the population and cause disease Therefore it is crucial to identify areas with low vaccination coverage and take corrective actionrdquo Dr Rajeev Jayadevan Chairman of the Kerala State IMA Research Cell told IANSldquoWhile India has been poliofree for 10 years we must remain vigilant especially with the virus still present in neighbouring countriesrdquo said Deepak Kapur Chairman of Rotary Internationalrsquos India National PolioPlus Committee RIINPPC at an event on ThursdayldquoWith only two endemic countries remaining Pakistan and Afghanistan we can finally see the silver lining on the horizon therefore keep our focus on immunisationrdquo he addedThe Global Polio Eradication Initiative GPEI launched in 1988 efficiently reduced over 999 per cent polio cases and also eradicated wild poliovirus WPV types 2 and 3ldquoIndia has achieved significant milestones in polio eradication within the duration of the last twenty years However the fight is still on as some sensibilities still remain because of poor healthcare facilities reluctance to vaccination and socioeconomic factorsrdquo Dr Parimala V Thirumalesh Sr Consultant Neonatology ampampPediatrics Aster CMI Hospital Bengaluru saidConstant improvement in surveillance vaccination coverage and community involvement continues to be crucial in the fight against polio which can be transmitted via eating or drinking contaminated substances and lead to partial paralysis and even deathldquoWe must remain vigilant as challenges persist particularly in regions where vaccinederived polio remains a threat We must innovate and adapt our strategies to reach the most vulnerable populations Empowering local health workers is vital as they are key to building trust within communities and addressing vaccine hesitancyrdquo Dr Ritesh Yadav Consultant Internal Medicine Paras Health Gurugram saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever