Thane polio-free since 2009, say health officials

THANE: A sustained immunization campaign to eradicate polio from Thane, once identified as a high risk area, has yielded positive results, with not a single case of the dreaded virus reported from the district since 2009.
Health officials said, since 2000, Maharashtra, with Thane district in particular, were under close observation of the authorities tasked with immunization programmes.
“Of the 37 cases of polio reported in Maharashtra since 2000, as many as 10 were from Thane district. It was a cause of concern, as the affected were residents of corporation areas, which were struggling to cope with the sudden flow of migrant population,” an official from the deputy director of health office told TOI.
He added that door-to-door campaigns and mobile workers deployed at railway stations and construction sites, among others, has secured the desired results in their battle against polio.
From as many as three cases reported in Thane in 2000, the numbers fell to two in 2002 and from 2003 to 2008, only one polio case was reported. However, post-2009, Thane district can be safely proclaimed as polio-free,” the official said.
He added that a month-long national immunization programme to tackle polio will be flagged off from January 19. However, even after this drive to administer polio drops to children up to five years of age is completed, certain pockets of Thane will continue with it for another year, he said.
“The immunization drive is expected to cover 1.36 lakh beneficiaries across Thane district. A total of 1,280 two-member mobile teams will trek the hilly terrain in Talasari, Mokhada and also come calling in the congested pockets of Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi and in townships like Navi Mumbai and Thane,” said the official.