hamburger icon

World Polio Day 2012

All
News
World Polio Day 2012: Tireless vaccination only way to keep polio at bay

World Polio Day 2012: Tireless vaccination only way to keep polio at bay

In three months, India will have been polio-free for two complete years. Experts however feel that a robust vaccine drive is a must if India intends to stay polio-free considering it shares its border with Bangladesh and Pakistan, two polio endemic regions. India's anti-polio action is massive. During each of the two yearly national immunization days, 172 million children under five years in the country are given the 'do boond zindagi ki (two drops of life)' Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). Nearly 2.3 million vaccinators under the direction of 155,000 supervisors fan out across the country, visiting 209 million homes to administer the vaccine.

Polio: Do you know about the disease?

Polio: Do you know about the disease?

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralysed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.

Polio eradication: The show must go on

Polio eradication: The show must go on

Once one of the most feared diseases worldwide which was responsible for paralysing many children, polio has been contained to a large extent. There are with only three epidemic regions left in the world Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. India, which only a decade ago accounted for most of the world's cases hasn't reported a new case in the last two years. A joint initiative between the WHO, various governments and multiple private partners, it represents the world's largest and most successful private-public partnership (PPP) initiative. The goal is to obviously eradicate the disease completely like rhinderpest and small pox. For that every last child must get the polio vaccine. Here are some facts about the polio eradication campaign:

World Polio Day 2012: Tireless vaccination only way to keep polio at bay

World Polio Day 2012: Tireless vaccination only way to keep polio at bay

In three months, India will have been polio-free for two complete years. Experts however feel that a robust vaccine drive is a must if India intends to stay polio-free considering it shares its border with Bangladesh and Pakistan, two polio endemic regions. India's anti-polio action is massive. During each of the two yearly national immunization days, 172 million children under five years in the country are given the 'do boond zindagi ki (two drops of life)' Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). Nearly 2.3 million vaccinators under the direction of 155,000 supervisors fan out across the country, visiting 209 million homes to administer the vaccine.

Polio: Do you know about the disease?

Polio: Do you know about the disease?

Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system, and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. The virus enters the body through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Initial symptoms are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness in the neck and pain in the limbs. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis (usually in the legs). Among those paralysed, 5% to 10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.

Polio eradication: The show must go on

Polio eradication: The show must go on

Once one of the most feared diseases worldwide which was responsible for paralysing many children, polio has been contained to a large extent. There are with only three epidemic regions left in the world Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria. India, which only a decade ago accounted for most of the world's cases hasn't reported a new case in the last two years. A joint initiative between the WHO, various governments and multiple private partners, it represents the world's largest and most successful private-public partnership (PPP) initiative. The goal is to obviously eradicate the disease completely like rhinderpest and small pox. For that every last child must get the polio vaccine. Here are some facts about the polio eradication campaign: