Bill Gates is touring India and specifically focused on polio eradication. Bill Gates is amazed with size of huge task. He came earlier as Microsoft Chief but this time and for first time he is here as Samaritan philanthropist Messiah to poor children not to affect from polio.
The Union Health & Family Welfare Ministry and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have decided to work together for to completely eradicate polio from the country. This was decided when the Co-Chair of the Foundation Mr. Bill Gates alongwith other members of the Foundation called on the Union Health Minister, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss in his office in New Delhi last evening. Dr Ramadoss requested the experts to suggest the new tools that are required for achieving polio eradication at the earliest.
The Secretary for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Naresh Dayal said that with the current strategy of using monovalent vaccine we have reduced the P1 circulation to the minimum. Bihar had reported only 2 P1 cases in 2008. In western UP P1 circulation stopped for nearly 18 months from November 2006, the recent P1 cases in western UP are due to importation. The India Expert Advisory group on Polio will meet on 10-11 November 2008 and the recommendations of the IEAG on strategy and tools will implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
In 2008 till the end of October, 499 cases of poliomyelitis due to wild polio virus have been reported. Out of these 62 are due to wild polio virus type 1 and 437 due to wild polio virus type 3. 64% of the polio cases of 2008 are among the children who have received more than ten doses of immunization. Only 1% of the total cases were from those who were not immunized or received zero doses, informed the experts at the meeting.
Appreciating the efforts made by the Government in polio eradication, Mr. Bill Gates who was present during two hours discussion said that we have to keep mind open to find solution and something new has to be done. Mr Gates has assured all the support by the Foundation in the Government's efforts for polio eradication.
The Government of India has been following the recommendations of the India Expert Advisory Group on Polio Eradication in their true spirit. As part of intensification of efforts, immunization rounds using the more efficacious monovalent oral polio vaccine are being held almost every month in the endemic and high-risk areas.
These efforts have brought India closest to eradication of the most dangerous Type 1 polio virus which caused 95 per cent polio cases in the country till 2006.
• The number of Type 1 polio cases in the country in 2008 is 59 compared with 83 in 2007 and 646 in 2006. The progress has been impressive in the two endemic states.
• UP stopped Type 1 transmission in 2007. The most endemic part of the country i.e. West UP, the epicentre of all polio outbreaks, remained free of Type 1 virus for a record one-and-a-half year period till mid 2008 when an importation from Bihar set off a local circulation.
• Bihar has only two Type 1 cases so far this year, an all time low.
• The circulating families of polio Type 1 have reduced over the past two years.
As per the IEAG recommendation, the programme continues to focus on eradicating Type 1 virus first while keeping Type 3 curtailed.
During 2008 so far 10 rounds of SIA have already been implemented in high risk districts of UP out of which mOPV1 were used in 8 SIAs and mOPV3 in two SIAs. Similar rounds were also undertaken in Bihar.
The Secretary for Health & Family Welfare, Shri Naresh Dayal said that with the current strategy of using monovalent vaccine we have reduced the P1 circulation to the minimum. Bihar had reported only 2 P1 cases in 2008. In western UP P1 circulation stopped for nearly 18 months from November 2006, the recent P1 cases in western UP are due to importation. The India Expert Advisory group on Polio will meet on 10-11 November 2008 and the recommendations of the IEAG on strategy and tools will implemented by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
In 2008 till the end of October, 499 cases of poliomyelitis due to wild polio virus have been reported. Out of these 62 are due to wild polio virus type 1 and 437 due to wild polio virus type 3. 64% of the polio cases of 2008 are among the children who have received more than ten doses of immunization. Only 1% of the total cases were from those who were not immunized or received zero doses, informed the experts at the meeting.
Appreciating the efforts made by the Government in polio eradication, Mr. Bill Gates who was present during two hours discussion said that we have to keep mind open to find solution and something new has to be done. Mr Gates has assured all the support by the Foundation in the Government's efforts for polio eradication.
The Government of India has been following the recommendations of the India Expert Advisory Group on Polio Eradication in their true spirit. As part of intensification of efforts, immunization rounds using the more efficacious monovalent oral polio vaccine are being held almost every month in the endemic and high-risk areas.
These efforts have brought India closest to eradication of the most dangerous Type 1 polio virus which caused 95 per cent polio cases in the country till 2006.
• The number of Type 1 polio cases in the country in 2008 is 59 compared with 83 in 2007 and 646 in 2006. The progress has been impressive in the two endemic states.
• UP stopped Type 1 transmission in 2007. The most endemic part of the country i.e. West UP, the epicentre of all polio outbreaks, remained free of Type 1 virus for a record one-and-a-half year period till mid 2008 when an importation from Bihar set off a local circulation.
• Bihar has only two Type 1 cases so far this year, an all time low.
• The circulating families of polio Type 1 have reduced over the past two years.
As per the IEAG recommendation, the programme continues to focus on eradicating Type 1 virus first while keeping Type 3 curtailed.
During 2008 so far 10 rounds of SIA have already been implemented in high risk districts of UP out of which mOPV1 were used in 8 SIAs and mOPV3 in two SIAs. Similar rounds were also undertaken in Bihar.
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