West Bengal confirms first polio case 2011
POSTED February 14, 2011 - 12:53 | POSTED BY Varma.gbsnp
Last edited by Silky Chandvani on February 14, 2011 - 13:24
The first type 1 polio case has been found in an 18-month-old girl in Howrah district of West Bengal. She had not received any dose of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) before she sunk into paralysis on Jan. 13, according to the Union Health Ministry officials.
Polio types
There are three known strains of polio virus: type I(the Brunhilde strain), type II(the Lansing strain), type III( the Leon strain).
The type I(the Brunhilde strain) was named after a female chimpanzee which was used for polio research at John Hopkins. The strain was isolated from the spinal cord of the chimp after injecting it with stool specimens from patients in Baltimore area.
Type II strain owes its genesis to a patient who died from polio in Lansing, Michigan. It is said that this strain is easiest one to eradicate, although it resurfaced in Nigeria recently.
Type III strain was isolated from Leon’s (a boy, who died from paralytic polio in Los Angels in 1930s), brain and spinal cord. It is a tough strain to eradicate.
Concern about the case
The Howrah polio incidence has set the alarm bells ringing once again. The place is surrounded by high-risk areas, and could lead to the virus going on rampage.
Dr Hamid Jafari, the Project Manager of WHO-National Polio Surveillance Project (NPSP), said, “The continuing polio virus transmission in Bengal is a cause of concern."
The WHO-NPSP is going all out to implement a vigorous immunization response. He said, "Stopping the virus from spreading before summer months is crucial to eliminate the residual transmission of the crippling disease.”
At least, three doses of polio vaccine are required to kill the virus.
