'Polio vaccine a must to avoid resurgence'

HYDERABAD: Even as India declared itself as polio-free two days ago for no reported cases of polio for three consecutive years, the polio vaccine will nevertheless continue to be a part of the routine immunization programme, experts in the city said.

However, the conventional oral polio vaccine is likely to be phased out gradually and replaced with the injectable vaccine. Doctors said that the polio vaccination drive has to continue to avoid resurgence of the debilitating disease. "Neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan still have polio. We therefore need to be very careful now," said Dr Manmohan Reddy, a senior paediatrician and member of Indian Academy of Paediatrics.

Paediatricians in the private sector have already started to recommend the injectable polio vaccine. According to Dr Jagdish Chandra, the government too is considering replacing the oral vaccine with the injectable. "People who can afford are taking the injectable vaccine though it has not reached the expected level," the paediatrician said.

In AP, the last polio case was detected from the East Godavari district in July 2008, officials from the state health department said. Two rounds of polio immunization, slated to cover 96 lakh children in the age group of 0 to 5 years, will be held across Andhra Pradesh on January 19 and February 23 this year.

"After the second round on February 23, the Government of India team along with other partners and technical experts will review the national polio immunization programme. They are likely to redesign the existing programme," said Dr K Narsinga Rao, joint director, child health and immunization.

Officials said, this year, there will be more emphasis on migrants and slums that house a large chunk of the high risk population.

Polio is a viral, infectious disease which primarily spreads through the fecal-oral route. It usually infects children under the age of five. Though eliminated in most countries, it still causes paralysis and death in Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Source: Times of India

India breaks free of polio in boost to global immunization drive

A child receives polio drops at a polio booth in the central Indian city of Bhopal December 21, 2008. 
CREDIT: REUTERS/RAJ PATIDAR

India on Monday marked three years since its last reported case of polio, paving the way for it to be declared free of the crippling virus and boosting efforts to wipe out the disease globally, the Organization (WHO) said.

The country's last case of the wild polio virus was detected on Jan 13, 2011, in a two-year-old girl in the state of West Bengal. Three years without any new cases means India can be declared polio-free.

Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria are the only countries in the world where the disease remains endemic.

"We give huge credit to the government... It makes us extremely proud and highly responsible for having helped the government to reach this incredible achievement," India's WHO representative, Nata Menabde, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Menabde said the WHO would officially declare India as polio-free by the end of March, when the legal process for certification was completed.

Until the 1950s, polio crippled thousands every year in rich countries. It attacks the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours of infection.

Source: Reuters.com

New campaign to keep the young adults healthy.

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Six years on, Mumbaikars win polio battle

MUMBAI: As the country stands just seven days away from being certified a polio-free nation, Mumbai will be achieving its own little milestone. 

It will be nearing six years of defeating the poliomyelitis virus despite being a city with a high migration rate. 

Asif Nagouri from Govandi was the last child to be diagnosed with the virus in March 2008. TOI recently visited his house and found out that the ailment had forced the Rajasthan natives to return to their village in Nagaur district. Asif's father Mohammed Sikander now lives here alone and works as a manager in a tea stall on Senapati Bapat Marg in Elphinstone Road.

Asif (now aged six) goes to a government school but is not as agile as other children of his age. "His ailment scared us. I shifted my family back to the village fearing that my other kids may also contract some serious infection. The quality of life in Govandi is unimaginably inhuman. Polio robbed us of our dreams of accomplishing something big in Mumbai," laments the father of four. He claims the state government did nothing to help the child recover and every penny of Asif's medical expense had to be borne by him. "I spent nearly a lakh, which was my life's savings, on his treatment in a private hospital in Kurla," said Sikander. He recollects getting his son's physiotherapy done at civic-run Sion Hospital for free though. "Asif is leading a normal life now but we have to be very careful with him. He walks with a perceptible limp and is not strong like his siblings," he says. 

But Asif's polio never deterred him from getting his other children immunized. "Yes, it is true that my son got polio despite taking all the doses on time. But that only made me more aware and cautious towards my other children," he says. "In my tryst with polio, I have learnt that immunization is the key to beat the virus," he says. 

A cent percent immunization rate still eludes India. "It is around 61% now. The Centre is now pushing all state governments to improve the immunization reach," said Dr Ravindra Banpel, regional team leader (west) for the World Health Organization. Mumbai has been faring better than the national average reaching out to 80-90% of the target population.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai

Hepatitis, Typhoid and other non-mandatory vaccines for your child – are they required?

Our doctor has recommended vaccines in addition to the mandatory ones for my baby. I want to know more about them and if they are necessary.

Most doctors recommend some additional vaccines for babies these days, considering the fact that there are many more diseases that are preventable. While some are as important as the government prescribed mandatory vaccines, there are some that you and your doctor can decide to administer or not. Here is a list of vaccines recommended by the Indian Academy of Pediatricians. It is prudent to first discuss the vaccines with your child’s doctor first and then decide to go ahead with the vaccine.

MMR vaccine – The vaccine confers protections against mumps, measles and rubella. There is some controversy surrounding this vaccine linking it to autism and inflammatory bowel disease. However, a study by the WHO has concluded that there is no evidence linking the vaccine to these conditions. The child may have slight fever and rash seven to ten days after the injection.

Hepatitis B vaccine – Added to the Universal Immunization programme in India more recently (2002), the vaccine confers immunity against Hepatitis B. Hepatitis is a viral infection affecting the liver leading to jaundice and other complications in the liver. At birth, if the mother is positive for hepatitis B, the baby needs to be vaccinated within 12 hours of birth. 

HPV vaccine – for preventing cervical cancers; can be given to girls at 10 years of age. However, there has been a debate in recent times regarding usage of the same. Consult your paediatrician; find the pros and cons of the vaccine.

HiB vaccine – for preventing meningitis (infection in the brain) caused due to Hemophilus B influenza virus.

Typhoid vaccine – for preventing the bacterial infection called typhoid spread through food or drink contaminated by urine or faeces of an infected person. Starting with fever, headache, diarrhoea or constipation, rose spots on the chest, it can lead to an enlarged spleen and liver.

Other optional vaccines:

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine – for preventing pneumococcal meningitis (affecting the brain of children) or pneumonia. Since the cost of the vaccine is quite high (single dose costs as much as Rs.4000), most parents do not opt for this vaccine.

IPV (Inactivated polio vaccine) – Given as an injection, this is the inactivated form of the virus (unlike the oral one which has live attenuated virus). It confers nasal and throat immunity to the virus.

Rotavirus vaccine – Recommended by the WHO, it prevents rotavirus infection which causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration in children.

Influenza vaccine – prevents flu or infection of the respiratory system. The vaccine holds good for a period of one year only as the constitution of the vaccine is changed every year as per the kind of flu virus prevalent at that time.

Source: health.india.com

Radio’s role in Child Rights

UNICEF and Association of Radio Operators of India organised a workshop to evolve a suitable platform which can use the power of radio for social development specifically child rights. 

The workshop used participatory processes wherein the radio professionals themselves realised how easy it is to integrate social messages in regular programming and use radio waves for a cause.

To create a platform for, by and about children and to enable a whole generation of adolescents to voice their issues is what UNICEF alongwith radio can facilitate. This was the underlying message a group of radio professionals took home today.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s 2012 estimates indicate that 245 private FM radio stations are reaching millions of listeners across socio-economic classes in India, making radio the most potent medium for entertainment, information and education.

The interactive session presented an overview of the child rights scenario in India, UNICEF’s approach to the situation and potential programming and partnership opportunities with FM radio. Radio jockeys and producers from Red FM, Fever 101, Must radio, Big FM, Radio Dhamaal, Radio City, Radio and Music.com and other community based radio stations participated in the workshop.

Rajeshwari Chandrasekar, Chief, UNICEF State Office for Maharashtra, pointed out that “FM radio has immense potential for influencing public opinion and creating a movement for children and young people through their interactive programming. UNICEF’s partnership with radio stations through the Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI) will provide a platform for India’s children and youth to influence key decision makers, notably media.”

“The role of media and radio in particular is extremely powerful especially in India, which, is a huge music loving and information loving country. To now extend the potential of radio to speak for change and mobilise people and bring institutions together is the logical next step forward. Radio jockeys need to step up and become radio journalists. This is the only way radio can become a partner in development,” said Uday Chawla, Secretary General, Association of Radio Operators of India (AROI).

Through interactive games and roleplaying, radio professionals explored options on how they could mainstream messaging on child labour, marriage, abuse, education and open defecation as a part of their regular programming.

RJ Simran from Radio City, urged the radio jockeys gathered to speak for change. She handed a whistle to each radio jockey to use on air to advocate child’s rights. “That whistle lying on my desk everyday will remind me that I have a responsibility to be the change I want to see. There are several barriers we face including our own misconceptions and lack of information. We often think that no one wants to discuss serious issues but if we actually start talking about these concerns on air, we will find that our audience does care and gets involved.”

She gave the example of UNICEF’s current ‘Take the Poo 2 the Loo’ (www.poo2loo.com, #poo2loo on twitter) campaign. 626 million Indians, half the population of our country defecates in the open. “This campaign can easily be woven into our daily programming in a fun and easy way to get the message across that open defecation which you see from the local train every morning is also a health, dignity and safety issue.”

Sonia Sarkar and Swati Mohapatra, UNICEF facilitated the workshop stressing, “Child rights can be as popular as cricket and Bollywood provided the end message is put on air creatively with humour. We would be happy to work with any radio station with our expertise on critical issues concerning women and children in India.”