Experts warn against complacency on polio resurgence

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, September 27

Even though the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared India a polio-free nation in 2014, experts feel that huge population, poor sanitation, impure drinking water, malnutrition and proximity to polio-affected nations, Pakistan and Afghanistan, still makes Punjab the most fertile ground for the virus to breed.

Deepak Kapur, chairman of the Rotary International’s India National Polio Plus Committee, said there was always a risk of reintroduction of the virus. He was speaking at the District Polio Orientation and Planning Meet organised by the Rotary Club in the city.

“Many countries, including Somalia and Tajikistan, had outbreaks even after these were declared polio-free nations by the WHO. The disease is just a flight or a bus ride away. So we have to keep up the supplementary immunisation rounds,” said Kapur. He said there was a dire need to keep the routine immunisation schedules intact that have only a reach of 64 per cent nationally. “In some of the high-risk areas, it would be even lower,” said Kapur.

Dr Gagan Sharma, surveillance medical officer, WHO, said the international health body had planned the polio endgame strategy 2013-2018 in which oral polio vaccines (OPVs) would be withdrawn from the routine immunisation programme in a phased manner along with the introduction of the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV).

He said India would be introducing at least one dose of the IPV in the routine immunisation schedule by November this year. While informing about the advantages of the IPV over the OPV, he said it did not contain live polio virus like OPV and, hence, would not have any risk of the vaccine derived polio virus (VDPV) that had the a risk to change into wild polio virus.

Dr Deshraj, Assistant Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar, said the Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar (MCJ) should pay more attention to improve the civic conditions of the slum areas, a majority of which do not even have safe drinking water. He said polio was a water-borne disease and a majority of the slum areas in the city were situated next to the railway tracks and open drains and have no availability of fresh drinking water. “Till date, these are relying on drinking water from illegal water connections that are mostly found to be contaminated with sewerage water,” said Dr Deshraj.

Discussing the avenues for polio funding, Gurjeet Singh Shekhon said the Global Polio Eradication Project was still short of $1.5 billion and suggested various ways of holding a polio marathon to cycle rides, hosting cultural functions and also running various campaigns on the lines of Purple Pink project, polio-funding project initiated by Rotary International in the USA.

District Governor for the Rotary International, KK Dheer, while appreciating the efforts of the polio workers across the country, said these people had really worked in inhumane conditions in reaching out to the children who were intentionally hidden by the slum dwellers in their houses. He also asked the WHO to share its scientific research data with the state government agencies and also with the Rotary International for making the endgame strategy plan a huge success.