Port Blair, Mar 07: Directorate of Health Services (DHS), Andaman and Nicobar Administration organized a Media Workshop today in GB Pant hospital Auditorium, Port Blair to sensitize the local media about the upcoming National Immunisation Day (NID) round of Pulse Polio Immunisation programme. Representatives of local media organizations attended the workshop. Dr. S P Burma, Director DHS was also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Avijit Roy, Deputy Director (health) DHS requested the media persons to spread awareness about NID and Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme to be held on March 10th 2019 via their respective media.
He said, “As per the recommendations of the India Expert Advisory Group (IEGA) one Single Polio National Immunization Day (NID) will be conducted on 10th March 2019, covering all the children in the age group of 0-5 years of age by administering two drops of bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) at Booths followed by house to house visits by the staffs in the next two days to search and vaccinate the missed out /unimmunized children”.
Dr Roy further informed that around 27000 children will receive vaccine during the round in 588 booths across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. “A booth in airport, Sea-port and other transit point has also been set up”, he added.
All tourists and people living in forest area will also be covered under this program. The Target is to cover 100% of eligible children. General public have been requested to bring their children to the booth for administering polio drops on 10th March 2019.
India has remained free of wild polio cases since January 2011 and India’s unprecedented progress against polio has let to certification of South East region including India by WHO in March 2014 as polio free. India remains at high risk of importation till the whole world is free of wild polio virus. 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. It can strike at any stage, but effects mainly children under three, polio is mainly passed through person to person (i.e feco-oral) contact, and infects persons who do not have immunity against the diseases. There is no cure for polio, but the disease can be prevented by immunization with polio vaccine. Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) was developed in 1961 by Dr. Albert Sabin, OPV is a highly effective, safe and inexpensive vaccine, and has been used in all countries of the world to achieve polio eradication.
The Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) samples are being sent under the National Polio Surveillance Project, which is a collaborative project of Govt. of India and the World Health Organization. The goal is to ensure that no child will ever again suffer from the crippling effects of polio in the entire world.