In a revolutionary step, the India Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) on polio eradication has given its nod to use Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) for the first time in India. The advisory group has given its approval to use the vaccine in nine high risk districts of western Uttar Pradesh as the test bed for the vaccine in addition to the on going Oral Polio Vaccine drives.

The group had met on November 10 and 11 in Delhi, and the decision came after a detailed discussion on the repercussions of the usage of IPV. The recommendations of the IEAG will now be placed before the Central as well as State Government for final policy decisions. Interestingly, the decision comes just a few days after Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft and co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave an assurance of providing adequate funds for developing and using the Injectible Polio Vaccine in India.

Though the need for use of IPV has been felt for long in India, the Government had been hesitant about using it as it was not regarded cost affective in terms of large scale usage. Apart from the cost of the vaccine, trained health workers would be required to administer the IPV as it needs to be injected in the body of the child rather than simply given as an oral polio drop as was the case earlier.

According to experts, IPV is being recommended initially for Uttar Pradesh because as per the initial survey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) last year, a large number of children in western U P have been found to be resistant to the Oral Polio Vaccine and have stopped responding to it.

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