Mangalore: District Pulse Polio Campaign to Focus on Migratory Population
 
Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS)
 
Mangalore, Feb 18: With an aim to eradicate Poliomyelitis and to vaccinate all children under 5 years of age against the Polio virus, the office of the district health and family welfare, Dakshina Kannada will conduct the first phase of Pulse Polio Immunization Programme in the district on Sunday February 19.

Informing this at a press conference here on Friday February 17, Dr O R Srirangappa, district health and family welfare officer said that children of those who have migrated from other parts of the state and nation will be given priority as a high number of such children are working at many construction sites in the city.

He also appealed to the owners of various flats/apartments to allow the immunization staff inside the flats unlike previous years wherein the security guards in a few flats denied them entry. He informed that in all, 1,65,136 children are to be vaccinated in the district out of which 1,12,959 will be in rural areas and 52,177 in city areas. A total of 921 booths will be opened, 3788 vaccinators will be on duty and 6 mobile teams will be working for the cause, 21 transits teams will be in railway station and bus stands.
 
He also said the last case of polio reported in the country was on January 13, 2011 in Haura of West Bengal district. In DK district the last reported polio case was in the year 1999 and called upon all the parents to be aware of this programme to avert any cases in future.
 
There are 1,65,136 children aged below 5 years, among them 1427 are children of migrated parents.
 
Dr Rukmini M, Dr Rajesh, Dr Kishore, Dr Ramakrishna Rao among others were present.