Written By: Debjani Arora | Published : October 24, 2015 9:40 AM IST
The WHO South-East Asia Region has been maintaining its polio-free status for the past 4 years. The last wild polio case was reported from India on 13 January 2011. This is a great achievement in terms of public health and prosperity, especially for a country like ours where the incidence of polio was high.
India embarked on the polio eradication drive almost 19 years ago when around 50,000 children were becoming a victim of this crippling disease every year. The government s initiative Pulse Polio Immunization Program where polio drops were given to every child free of cost has been a great success.
However, even today many parents have inhibitions being a part of the pulse polio immunization program as their child receives the drops from their healthcare provider. So, to clear the doubts we spoke to Dr Mahendra Sawant, consultant pediatrician, Ojaswi Child Care, Navi Mumbai.
Is it necessary for every child to take the pulse polio drops even if the baby is vaccinated?
Yes, it is. Think of it from the community level. When millions of children are being vaccinated together the chances of fighting the virus and getting control over it increases manifolds. Polio is a highly infectious disease; even if your child is already vaccinated there would be several children in the society who might not be given the vaccination at that time. So the chances of getting infected are fairly high. However, if your child along with others is getting the vaccination we are able to fight the disease at a larger level and provide immunity to millions of kids at the same time. While individual vaccination can provide protection, the pulse polio program will help the masses in general, which is our aim. (Read: Polio: Do you know about the disease?)
But if a child is already vaccinated will it not be like a polio overdose for a child?
It is safe to give your child the oral polio drops along with the scheduled drops. Every child under five years of age should receive the oral polio drops. There is no such thing as an overdose. In fact, OPV is given in several doses over a period of time to control and eradicate the disease. There are very rare cases when your doctor might advise you not to take the drops. (Read: Polio-free India to supply the oral polio vaccine to 40 nations)
When should one stay away from giving the child the drops under pulse polio immunization program?
If your child is too ill, has high grade fever, is on anti-cancer drugs, is suffering from loose motions or diarrhoea then you should avoid giving the vaccine.
What kind of vaccination is more effective the oral drops or injectable ones (IPV)?
A combination of both is necessary to fight the disease. Parents who can afford both can go for them. For others, the oral polio drops can be of great help.
The OPV is a live weakened form of the virus that produces antibodies to help fight the disease while the injected vaccination is the inactivated virus and is highly effective in providing protection. About one in 2.4 million people who receive OPV may contract polio. This is not the case with IPV. (Read: India targets polio immunisation at boundaries to prevent re-entry)
What should a parent do if a dose of polio is missed?
If a dose is missed OVP can be given to the child in a span of six months to recover the dosage. Children who have missed taking the drops can be given IPV at the age of seven years too.
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