A study conducted in the city, involving 300 mothers and their babies, to assess the effects of bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) has helped in changing the national policy on the issue. The India Advisory Group in Polio Eradication has now recommended the use of bOPV —especially in UP and Bihar to immunise children against Type 1 and Type 3 polio virus in one shot.

Dr JM Deshpande, member of the India Advisory Group in Polio Eradication, said that Pune was one of the cities where the trial was conducted. Indore and Chennai were the other two cities. The states of UP and Bihar have reported 464 cases of Type 1and Type 3 polio till October this year.

New solutions are being assessed, including use of bivalent bOPV that would simplify logistics and hasten the end of both types of polio virus.

The use of Type 1 monovalent oral polio vaccine (mOPV) and measures to scale up operations had led to a considerable fall in Type 1 polio virus in the state. Western UP and Bihar that were largely affected by Type 3 virus made the experts reach a conclusion that bOPV would accelerate eradication.

According to Dr Jacob John, principal investigator for this study, the research was path breaking, and has helped in changing the national policy.

Dr Sharad Agarkhedkar, head of the department of paediatrics at Dr DY Patil Medical College, said that the five-arm polio study was conducted from August 13, 2008 till February 14, this year. We had enrolled 300 ANC mothers and collected cord blood of all the babies, he added.

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