Bihar polio-free for two years

Patna, Nov 30 - Bihar has remained polio-free for over two years, thanks to the state government's committment supported by development partners in the polio eradication programme, a health official Friday said.

Bihar Health Secretary and Executive Director of Bihar State Health Society Sanjay Kumar said Bihar has been focusing on 41 polio high risk blocks, which have persistently reported polio cases in the past.

Promoting sanitation and hygiene, routine immunisation, exclusive breastfeeding and diarrhoea management are some of the planned efforts to holistically address polio associated risk factors in the state, Sanjay Kumar said at a media interaction organised by Unicef here.

This progress follows strategic and intense efforts for polio eradication focussing on hard-to-reach areas along the Kosi river in central Bihar and to improve the quality of immunisation rounds and awareness, Sanjay Kumar said.

The programme continues to focus on the migrant and the mobile populations in brick kilns, construction workers and nomads as most polio cases in the past have been reported among them. With children -- especially newborns -- at the highest risk of getting polio, vaccinators track and immunise them at least eight times a year, Sanjay Kumar said.

Of the 17,964,847 children checked for polio till date, 4,834,138 have been vaccinated by around 95,000 vaccinators.