TN steps up pulse polio drive in six districts at infection risk
The Health and Family Welfare Department on Sunday conducted a special polio vaccination drive across the six districts, covering a total of 7,091 centres, including government hospitals, primary health centres, anganwadis, nutrition centres, schools, and other key locations.
Health Minister Ma SubramanianLaunched the pulse polio immunisation drive at the Urban Primary Health Centre in Thiruneermalai, near Pallavaram,
CHENNAI: State Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ma Subramanian on Sunday warned that six districts in Tamil Nadu face a renewed risk of polio transmission among children, prompting the government to intensify preventive measures through a special vaccination campaign.
The Health and Family Welfare Department on Sunday conducted a special polio vaccination drive across the six districts, covering a total of 7,091 centres, including government hospitals, primary health centres, anganwadis, nutrition centres, schools, and other key locations.
Launching the pulse polio immunisation drive at the Urban Primary Health Centre in Thiruneermalai, near Pallavaram, the minister said the National Polio Virus Expert Committee has identified 269 districts across 21 states in India as areas vulnerable to a potential re-emergence of the poliovirus. "Tamil Nadu's Chengalpattu, Mayiladuthurai, Sivaganga, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar districts have been flagged for enhanced surveillance and precautionary action," he said.
According to the minister, the campaign successfully administered oral polio drops to 7.82 lakh children below five years of age, achieving 99.32% coverage rate. The highest number of beneficiaries were recorded in Chengalpattu (2.31 lakh), followed by Thanjavur (1.59 lakh) and Tirunelveli (1.11 lakh).
Over 27,000 dedicated personnel, including healthcare workers, anganwadi staff, teachers, and volunteers, actively participated in the drive, which ran from 7 am to 5 pm.
Tamil Nadu has been a polio-free state for over two decades, with the last recorded case in Tirunelveli in 2004. India, officially declared polio-free by the World Health Organisation in March 2014, has remained free of indigenous cases for 11 years.
However, with new cases being reported in neighbouring countries, health authorities are on high alert. "We are taking proactive measures to prevent any possible resurgence of the virus and to protect every child from this debilitating disease," the minister asserted.