Countries with Polio
India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria remain the 4 countries where the virus is endemic. In India, it is Endemic in the two States of UP and Bihar, in the Border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the 6 Northern States of Nigeria.
We have Eradicated 99% of Polio and only one percent remains to be eradicated. We cannot afford to be complacent now. This is a battle that we cannot afford to lose.
What do we need to know about Polio ?
Polio is communicable disease and is spread through contaminated food and water.
Polio is a totally preventable disease.
The wild Polio virus can live in the environment only for a very short period. Less than 24 hours.
Only 1 in 200 children infected with the virus suffer from the disease.
All the rest silently excrete the virus and therefore are a danger to other people.
A child affected from the disease in infectious to others for many weeks as Polio virus is excreted in the stools.
Even a child who has received Routine Polio Immunisation can carry the wild virus in his intestine and under poor hygienic circumstances infect others who have not been immunized. Therefore it is important that every child receives the Oral Polio Vaccine on National Immunisation Day –NIDs irrespective of their immunization status.
Polio can be prevented by using Oral Polio Vaccine.
Oral Polio Vaccine has to be given many times for good immunity to occur. Once or twice will not be enough.
Once a child is affected with the disease there is no cure.
The Polio Vaccine is safe.
Oral Polio Vaccine should always be maintained at a temp of 2 to 8o Centigrade. Maintaining this temperature from the time of manufacture to the time it is administered to the child is called the cold chain.