RSS KATHMANDU: Following the detection of five polio cases in Rautahat and Mohattari districts this year, the Department of Health Services (DoHS) under the Ministry of Health and Population has sounded high alert in eight districts. The new polio cases prompted DoHS Immunisation Section to conduct five mop-up polio vaccination campaigns in Bara, Parsa, Siraha, Rautahat, Mohattari, Sarlahi, Dhanusa, and Saptari. The panic button has been pressed as part of adopting precautionary measure to control polio, said National Immunisation Programme chief Krishna Bahadur Chand. "We have been running polio vaccination campaigns in the eight highly vulnerable districts." Chand said the four cases of polio were found within February to June 2010. The Department has been planning to conduct another mop-up on Oct. 30 and 31 in the same districts and celebrate National Immunisation Day (NID) in Dec. 2010 and in January 2011 across the nation, he added. NID is DoHS's yearly programme. Earlier to this, two cases of polio were found in 1999, four in 2000, four in 2005, five in 2007 and six in 2008. However, no of polio cases were found in between 2000 to 2004. The country was all set to eradicate polio in 2005, but in the same year first polio case was detected which transmitted from India, Chand said. Doctors say polio is a communicable disease and every child below one year of age should be vaccinated three times.
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