Indian govt sets up polio booths at Wagah
Screening at the Wagah Border will continue for four months, the government said.
India is one of four countries that still has not eradicated polio. One polio case was reported this year from West Bengal. No cases have been reported from traditional hotspots
UP and Bihar .
Indians authorities have been put on alert because of an infectious strain of polio in Pakistan.
This year alone, Pakistan has registered 84 new cases of polio, 83 are of the more dangerous strain.
According to a statement issued by UNICEF, "India is surrounded by countries that still have polio virus transmission. Afghanistan and Pakistan have never stopped the transmission. They currently have upgrades of polio virus and just last week, the virus from Pakistan re-infected China."
The Union Health Ministry has now issued an alarm along the Wagah Border, in Punjab, Indian-held Jammu and Kashmir, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The warning comes after China confirmed that polio re-entered its territory after 10 years. Four infants in China have been infected with the polio virus transmitted from Pakistan, media reports said.
COMMENTS (13)
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Its only polio drops, not AK47 bullet, why such a hallaboo about it? This is any day better than the drama they enact everyday on the border (See the pic)
i dont know how come pakistanis are connecting polio to Indian internal security problems. to stop a disease its necessary to check its epicenter and pakistan unfortunately is the epicenter (what ever may be the reason behind the spread). checking the person crossing over for disease is a good step and will definately help in identifying the infected which then can be treated by pak govt. this will help in stopping infection on both side.
@ Adersh - as per the lastest WHO reports, India registered just one case polio, China - seven and Pakistan as high as 84, i.e. at par with African coutries.
Why is it that Pakistanis don't focus on improving the lot of their own people? Instead, they're obsessed with Kashmir or Afghanistan or Israel or some other place but their own. A country, with a small population (relative to India) that could do so well economically is dragging everyone down to the stone age with itself.
Hope they don't refuse Polio drops saying 'it is conspiracy to sterilize Muslims'.
Over last few years there have been cases of Polio in India mainly from certain Muslim majority pockets in UP state. There was even a case in Mumbai; it turned out the child was migrant from such area in UP. These pockets are of course among most backward areas with low education levels and dominated by Mullahs. The Mullahs were telling people in mosques that Polio vaccine is western conspiracy to sterilize Muslims. Government workers had hard time convincing and educating the Mullahs about the vaccine and getting their co-operation for the program.
Well I couldn't understand....On one hand they say India is one of four countries that has not eradicated Polio completely but then we see Indians blaming Pakistan for this too...Ahh I forgot it is in their blood to blame Pakistan for everything that happens in India...Grow up you Indians!!
Now polio transferred to all weather friend China
dont tell me we are getting into biological game here, after all other attempts seems to hae failed.
Hope to see the day when something productive comes to India from across the border
Pakistan seems to have become a hotbed for all things unpleasant in the world, most unfortunately it is our neighbour. The Indian govt needs to further strengthen the border to ensure none of this gets through.
WHO has praised India's efforts in combating polio. We all know the ads where Amitabh Bachchan urges citizens to come for polio drops for their 5-year old's every Sunday!