Polio drive ends with 5,670 refusals in Hyderabad

Officials conducted a follow-up campaign to administer drops to missed children

HYDERABAD: The polio immunisation campaigns in Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas have ended with some 5,670 and 1,535 cases of refusals surfacing from the two districts respectively. In Hyderabad, 10,227 children could not be administered polio drops during the campaign that ran from March 12 to 15 because their parents' objections.

However, health officials claim that in a follow-up drive, the teams were able to convince the parents of more than 4,300 children who were immunised against the virus. But, 5,670 children among the refusal cases were still left out.

In Hyderabad's City taluka, cases of refusals were reduced to 2,159 against 4,220, 2,431 from 3,975 in Latifabad taluka, 878 from 1,348 in Qasimabad taluka and 202 from 684 in Hyderabad rural taluka.

The urgent polio drive was launched after a strain of the polio virus was found in a sample taken from the Tulsidas drainage pumping station in Hyderabad earlier this month. The strain, which was traced to the drain after a gap of two years, prompted the district administration to declare a red alert.



Meanwhile, in Mirpurkhas the polio drive's focal person, Dr Narayan Das, said that 1,535 children were not immunised because of their parents’ opposition. He said the health teams, with the support of the district administration, are trying to convince the parents to have their children immunised. Mirpurkhas Taluka Assistant Commissioner Ghulam Hussain Kanhio told the media that such parents will be dealt with stringently according to the law.

The district administration and police also detained a few persons, including Malik Mushtaq and Aijaz Ali, for preventing the teams from immunising children. They were released after their children were given the drops.