Himachal-born child detected with polio in Uttar Pradesh

SHIMLA - A two-year-old child of a migrant family from Uttar Pradesh, staying in Himachal Pradesh, has tested positive for polio, an official said Sunday.

Health director Nagesh Sharma told IANS that the child was born and brought up in a slum near Baddi town in Solan district, some 75 km from state capital Shimla.

“The child has been detected positive for polio in Uttar Pradesh. A communication in this regard was received by the polio surveillance unit (of Himachal Pradesh) Saturday,” he said.

“The child acquired the disease Nov 17 after which his parents took him to their native village in Badaun district of Uttar Pradesh, where he tested positive for polio,” Sharma said.

He said special drives have been launched in slums in Baddi area to administer polio drops.

“Children within a radius of 5 km of the place where the latest polio case was detected would be administered the vaccine,” the official said.

This is the second case of polio in Himachal Pradesh since 2005. The first case was reported in Nirmand area of Kullu district.

India is among the four countries where polio is endemic. The others countries are Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are the two states that have the largest concentration of polio cases.