Jaipur: Raj on alert as Pakistan reports 8 polio cases

JAIPUR: Barmer kids are most susceptible to polio virus it shares its border with Pakistan where eight polio cases were detected recently.
Even though Thar Express, which used to connect Pakistan with India, has been discontinued for some time, Barmer and Jodhpur are still the most vulnerable districts of the country.
Barmer, Jodhpur, Bharatpur and Alwar are the four most vulnerable districts in 11 states/UTs where the Centre launched it first sub-national immunization day for 2022 for administering polio vaccine drops on June 19, which will continue till Tuesday.
According to the Centre, “Globally, polio is endemic in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Though India has been certified “polio-free”, the risk of wild poliovirus importation or emergence of vaccine-derived polioviruses persists until global eradication, which highlights the need for maintaining high population immunity and sensitive surveillance in the nation.”
The aim of the drive is to provide additional protection to children by providing them with injectable inactivated poliovirus vaccine.
In Rajasthan, no new case of polio has been detected since 2009. The last case was detected in Bharatpur on November 27, 2009. For ensuring that the virus should not enter the state from Pakistan, the health department is keeping a close eye on it and providing polio vaccine to children of the districts which are vulnerable.
“In Pakistan, eight cases of poliovirus have been detected recently. We need to remain alert. For some time, Thar Express has been suspended, but Barmer and Jodhpur are still in the list of vulnerable districts as passengers from Pakistan reach India through Barmer and Jodhpur,” said a senior health official.