Polio virus goes wild in Bihar, 98 kids affected

The alarming rise in number of polio cases has baffled the health officials with fresh 98 cases reported till October this year.

Health officials said of the total cases, 93 were reported from those children who were covered in the last seven rounds of the Polio Immunization Drive.

Experts are now questioning the maintenance of cold chain required fro maintaining the efficacy of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).

“How do you expect OPV vials to work when the volunteers carry them in bare hands and they are exposed to sun rays”, asked a health expert Dr SA Krishna.

Of the total cases reported this year, the maximum number of 22 cases have been reported from Saharsa district, followed by 15 cases in Khagaria and 13 in Patna.

The WHO provides technical support to the polio eradication programme whereas the UNICEF takes care of the social mobilisation exercise.

“The latest polio statistics are indeed perplexing. Either the affected children suffer from serious immunity deficiency or the OPV has failed to produce required immunity to them”, the state immunization officer Dr Gopal Krishna said.

last year, Bihar had recorded 300 new polio cases.link