Six new polio cases reported from Gzb

Polio is back in Delhi’s backyard as six fresh cases have been reported in Ghaziabad since Saturday. Eight children—all from Muslim families—have tested positive for the deadly Type 3 Poliovirus here in less than a month.

Out of the six cases, four of them are infants aged around one year with the youngest being a 10-month-old girl child, Gulbahar, living in Bajhedkalan of Ghaziabad district.

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Three of the affected children—Sania (1), Saajan (1) and a three-year-old girl Mantaza—are from the Hapur area. One-year-old Daneesh of Dasna and one-year-old Laiba of Bhojpur are the two other confirmed cases.

Ghaziabad District Magistrate, Ajay Kumar Shukla, says the help of local Muslim leaders and NGOs has been sought to educate people about the threat of polio.

NGO workers and Muslim leaders would accompany the medical teams on a polio eradication drive starting July 1, he added.

The administration has also decided to administer the anti-P3 virus drops—this virus requires a different vaccine—to children. “The six cases have been reported from a particular community...we will now stress on administering the anti-P3 virus drops to children as this virus has been found in all the cases detected here. We will also concentrate on specific clusters where the cases have been found,” the DM said.

The first polio case in Ghaziabad was reported on May 26 when two-year-old Uzefa, son of one Rayees Qureshi, living in Ghaziabad’s Loni in Asalat Nagar village was found infected with PV-3.

Dr RC Gupta, the WHO official in charge of Ghaziabad district, said Uzefa was never administered polio drops as his family members had refused to let an anti-polio team enter his house on various occasions.

Ghaziabad administration officials now say they are comprehending taking action against families which refuse polio drops for children.

Both Ghaziabad and Noida districts have fallen way short of their polio immunisation targets during the past anti-polio drives.
source:cities.expressindia.com