Una, HP: Health officials suspect polio virus responsible for the paralysis of a girl here.
Chief Medical Officer Dr GR Kaushal said the child was admitted to hospital three days ago, adding that one side of her body had paralysed.
She was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, where doctors diagnosed a blood clot in her head. She was discharged after treatment. Dr GP Dwivedi, State Polio Surveillance Officer of the World Health Organisation (WHO), reached Una to investigate whether polio virus had anything to do with the medical condition.
“India was declared polio-free by the WHO in 2011 and no new case has been reported in the last four years. However, if investigations conclude the occurrence of polio virus in a child’s stools, it is a matter of concern,” he said.
Dr Kaushal said the second sample would be collected in the next 24 to 48 hours. Reports are out after three weeks or so.
District Health Officer Dr TC Mahant, who is in charge of the Polio Immunisation programme, said as a precautionary measure, all 145 children (below five and living within 3-km radius of the affected child) had been given oral polio vaccines.
The Chief Medical Officer said there was no need to panic since about 250 cases of acute flaccid paralysis were reported in the state every year while in Una district alone, 14 cases were reported last year. Five cases were reported this year, he said.
He added that polio virus was not the reason for paralysis in any of the cases. The history of the patient states that the cause of the blood clot was a head injury. He said they were waiting for the report to ascertain the cause of the acute flaccid paralysis.
Chief Medical Officer Dr GR Kaushal said the child was admitted to hospital three days ago, adding that one side of her body had paralysed.
She was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, where doctors diagnosed a blood clot in her head. She was discharged after treatment. Dr GP Dwivedi, State Polio Surveillance Officer of the World Health Organisation (WHO), reached Una to investigate whether polio virus had anything to do with the medical condition.
“India was declared polio-free by the WHO in 2011 and no new case has been reported in the last four years. However, if investigations conclude the occurrence of polio virus in a child’s stools, it is a matter of concern,” he said.
District Health Officer Dr TC Mahant, who is in charge of the Polio Immunisation programme, said as a precautionary measure, all 145 children (below five and living within 3-km radius of the affected child) had been given oral polio vaccines.
The Chief Medical Officer said there was no need to panic since about 250 cases of acute flaccid paralysis were reported in the state every year while in Una district alone, 14 cases were reported last year. Five cases were reported this year, he said.
He added that polio virus was not the reason for paralysis in any of the cases. The history of the patient states that the cause of the blood clot was a head injury. He said they were waiting for the report to ascertain the cause of the acute flaccid paralysis.
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