Govt to converge pulse polio with sanitation programme

New Delhi, Jan 14: Concerned with the spurt in polio cases last year, the government is planning to converge its Pulse Polio drive with the Total Sanitation Programme to achieve total eradication of the crippling disease during the current year.

Health Secretary Naresh Dayal told UNI that since the polio virus is spread through fecal matter of infected children, improving sanitation facilities is a must for eradication of the disease.

''If we want to eradicate polio or any any other water-borne disease, every household needs to have a toilet so that these children do not defecate in the open. The Health Ministry has taken up the issue of converging Pulse Polio programme with the Total Sanitation programme of the ministries for Urban Development and Rural Development so that this problem could be tackled properly.'' He said the basic reason for an increase of upto 650 polio cases in 2006 from 66 in 2005 was due to unhygenic conditions prevailing in Moradabad and JP Nagar districts of Uttar Pradesh which was the epicentre of the infection.

Though admitting that the spurt in polio cases was a set back for the programme, he said the silver lining was that the genetic families of polio virus has reduced from eight to three. Moreover, the outbreak has resulted in children in the endemic areas developing immunity to polio virus, he said.

Mr Dayal said the programme would be launched with renewed vigour this year with thre Nationwide Rounds in January, February and March after which state specific rounds would be done. He expressed the hope that polio cases would be drastically reduced to two digit numbers in 2007. ''I am completely hopeful that if not eradication, we will definitely reduce the polio cases drastically during 2007,'' he said.

Explaining the reason for his optimism, the Health Secretary said that even the Uttar Pradesh government has geared up its machinery to eradicate the crippling disease. The recent rounds in the state have missed very few children, he pointed out and said that the goal was not to miss evey a single children if a significant dent is to be made in the war against polio.

Already the presence of the wild polio virus has reduced drastically, by motivating all the people to get their child polio drops a lot could be achieved this year, he added.

UNI