Maharashtra launches polio immunisation drive

The detection of polio cases in Maharashtra has prompted authorities in the state to order a massive pulse polio immunisation drive and improve environmental sanitation to check the spread of the disease.

A polio case was detected on Monday at Govandi in northeast Mumbai during a routine polio surveillance programme. The victim, a nine-year-old girl, was suspected to have contracted the virus from Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, where she had gone for a holiday.

Health authorities and officials have asked the people of the state to ensure that every child is immunised.

The government had launched a Pulse Polio programme on September 10 following the detection of another case at Beed district in Maharashtra in August, officials said.

The next round of the Pulse Polio drive will be launched in the first week of November.

The exact date will be announced shortly, they said.

On the suspicion that the virus was being contracted by people from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra Health Minister Vimla Mundada said she was quoting the Union health department's report on the issue.

Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Ahmad Hasan, however, alleged the Centre was politicising the matter.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra health officials said citizens should ensure that every child is immunised, irrespective of their socio-economic status or caste or religion.