No polio cases in UP,Bihar for six months

Tajikistan has been polio-free since 1997. “This highlights the urgency of capitalising on recent gains made in the polio-endemic countries,” WHO said. An international team of experts is in the country since April to look into the situation.

Though the Union Health Ministry says it was aware of the spread of the virus to Tajikistan,it refuses to take the blame. “Even if Tajikistan was polio-free,the spread of the virus once again in the country shows that children would not have been protected enough,” said a ministry official.

The ministry is upbeat that it has been able to restrict the virus in the endemic states to great extent. So far in 2010,India has reported 21 polio cases — four of poliovirus type-1 and 17 of type-3 — as compared to 61 polio cases in the corresponding period of 2009 (19 poliovirus type-1 and 42 poliovirus type-3).

“India has made significant progress in reducing geographical extent and genetic diversity of polio viruses. Of the 35 states and Union Territories,polio remains endemic only in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Within these two states,polio is restricted to a few well defined high-risk areas. From November 2009 onwards we have not had type-1 case from both UP and Bihar together,” said the official.

The ministry is confident that through a multi-pronged approach in 107 high-risk blocks in UP and Bihar,it can keep the virus from spreading. This year it has introduced a bivalent oral polio vaccine which protects against both type-1 and type-3 cases.