What is polio? Polio is a disease caused by a virus. It enters a child's (or adult's) body through the mouth.

Sometimes it does not cause serious illness. But sometimes it causes paralysis (can't move arm or leg). It can kill people who get it, usually by paralyzing the muscles that help them breathe. Polio used to be very common in the India. It paralyzed and killed thousands of people a year before we had a vaccine for it. Polio Infections Polio is a highly contagious illness that can spread easily from person to person. In fact, when a person is infected with polio, it is expected that polio transmission among susceptible household contacts will occur in nearly 100 percent of children and over 90 percent of adults. When a person is infected with poliovirus, the virus resides in the intestinal tract and mucus in the nose and throat. Poliovirus transmission most often occurs through contact with stool of this infected person (known as fecal-oral transmission). Less frequently, polio transmission can occur through contact with infected respiratory secretions or saliva (oral-oral transmission). Polio transmission most often occurs through contact with stool from an infected person. This can happen in one of several ways, including: 1. Eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated with poliovirus. Poliovirus is commonly found in sewage water. 2. Touching surfaces or objects contaminated with poliovirus (for instance, by changing diapers), then putting the contaminated hand in the mouth. 3. Sharing foods or eating utensils with someone infected with poliovirus. Why does my baby need the polio vaccine? The polio vaccine protects your child against polio or poliomyelitis, which is a highly infectious viral disease spread through the faeces of infected people. The polio virus enters through the mouth and ends up in the nervous system. It can rapidly lead to paralysis and even death. India is one of the four remaining countries that still have polio. Polio mainly affects children under the age of 5. Older people with lower immunity levels are also vulnerable. It is a common belief that polio afflicts only the lower socio-economic group. That is not true: as long as there is one infected person, all children are at risk. There is no cure for polio. So the polio vaccine will protect your baby. Timely immunisation is the most effective way of preventing the disease. Older siblings who are under 5 years of age must also be vaccinated in case they have missed the dosage.

What is Puls Polio Immunization Program Government of India launched the Pulse Polio Immunization (PPI) program in 1995 as a result of World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Under this programme, all children under 5 years are given 2 doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) in December and January every year until polio is eradicated. PPI was initiated with the objective of achieving hundred percent coverage under OPV. It aims to reach the unreached children through improved social mobilization, plan mop-up operations in areas where poliovirus has almost disappeared and maintain high level of morale among the public. National Polio Survelliance Project The goal of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative is to ensure that no child will ever again know the crippling effects of polio. Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus poliovirus. It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. It can strike at any age, but affects mainly children under three. Polio is mainly passed through person-to-person (i.e., fecal-oral) contact, and infects persons who do not have immunity against the disease. There is no cure for polio, but the disease can be prevented by immunization with polio vaccine. Oral polio vaccine (OPV) was developed in 1961 by Dr Albert Sabin; OPV is a highly effective, safe and inexpensive vaccine, and has been used in all countries of the world to achieve polio eradication Along with all 192 member nations of the World Health Organization, the Government of India in 1988 committed the nation to the goal of global polio eradication. Since 1995, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has been conducting intensive immunization and surveillance activities aimed at the complete elimination of poliovirus and paralytic polio. The National Polio Surveillance Project, which was launched in 1997, provides technical and logistic assistance to the GoI, and works closely with state governments and a broad array of partner agencies to achieve the goal of polio eradication in India. Are there different forms of the polio vaccine? Polio vaccines are of two types - the oral polio vaccine (OPV) and the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). The OPV is a live, but weakened, virus which makes the body produce antibodies against it without developing into the disease. Given as oral drops, it protects not only the person who has taken them but also others living around him. Once the live vaccine virus is introduced into the body, it spreads to others through the water supply, the sewage system or food and drinking water. This way an entire household, and sometimes whole communities, can get protected as the vaccine virus helps them develop antibodies against the disease.

The IPV, on the other hand, while highly effective, only protects the vaccinated person, and not others. It is given by injection. Why should I be a part of the Pulse Polio programme? The Pulse Polio programme is a government-led programme which aims to eradicate polio from the country by vaccinating all children under the age of five, against polio. Every child is given OPV drops on special "Pulse Polio National Immunisation Days". It is important to ensure that all children up to 5 years of age are given the OPV drops in addition to the routine polio vaccines given by your doctor as per the immunisation schedule. This is the only way to ensure your child and your community are protected from polio. Some parents worry about the side effects of the polio vaccine. The vaccine has proven to be safe and is the most effective tool we currently have in preventing polio. A combination of OPV and IPV will put your fears to rest. If you are still worried, discuss your concerns with your doctor.