The India Expert Advisory Group (IEAG) on Polio has recommended Mop Up vaccination for the Districts of Jajpur, Balasore, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Puri and Kendrapara of Orissa for elimination of Type-1 virus, as these Districts are prone to its re- establishment. The Mop Up Round would commence on June 01, 2008.
The IEAG focus is on elimination of Type-1 polio virus this year and on preparation to eradicate Type-3 virus transmission by 2009.
The campaign has yielded wonderful results in Up and Bihar, the two most alarmingly affected States of India, where because of the intensified polio eradication effort against Type-1 virus, the dreaded disease has almost been extinguished. When there is only one case located in Bihar so far after the last round, not a single case has been reported from UP. . “India can be the first country to eliminate Type-1 polio virus by the end of 2008 if speedy and large-scale mop-up vaccination rounds are carried out in response to fresh polio cases,” say IEAG sources.
According to Dr. Shubhashish Sircar, though Orissa is prone to re establishment of the Poliovirus, “an excellent round is an absolute must to keep the virus at bay”.
The Mop Up Round in Orissa is commencing with Dr. Debashish Roy as the Regional Team Leader of the South East Region. He is scheduled to stay at Bhubaneswar from 29th to 30th May 2008. Peoples of the aforesaid Districts should come forward to cooperate with the campaign for better days of our future generations, he says.(scp)