2-yr-old with paralysed leg could be latest polio victim

The government may have gone all-out with its anti-polio campaign in the state, yet the dreaded disease seems to have reared its ugly head once again.

A 22-month-old boy from a village in Palghar is suspected of being afflicted with polio after a high fever left him with a paralysed left leg.

Though government doctors are unwilling to confirm polio yet, medical sources said the boy could most likely be a victim of the disease.

The child, Aman Mahadev Gharat, hails from Dativare-Khardi village in Palghar and had been suffering from high fever since September 17.

His mother Jyotsna had him examined at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Edwan some days later.

The same day Dr Deshpande, chief medical officer of the PHC informed Dr Suchitra Binderiya, Surveillance Officer (Polio), World Health Organisation, Thane unit, who visited the centre on September 20.

Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, Dr Binderiya said the boy’s stool samples had been sent to the Haffkine Institute, Parel. She said Aman had suffered Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) in the left leg.

“We will confirm polio only after the report is received, which would take at least three weeks,” she said.

However, a private medico said that going by the symptoms, it seems to be a clear case of polio and that the government could be hiding the truth.

Binderiya attributed polio cases in the state to the high rates of migration into Maharashtra from other states. “We have intensified the polio immunisation programme in those areas for children under 5 years as a preventive measure,” she added.

Jyotsna, the boy’s mother, said she regularly gave her son polio doses during the immunisation camps. Her husband, Mahadeo is a farm labourer and Aman is their only child.“I hope my son is not a polio victim,” she said.


  What is Acute flaccid paralysis? 

•   AFP is a clinical manifestation characterised by paralysis and reduced muscle tone. It is often used to describe the sudden onset of polio and is the most common sign of acute polio.
•   An AFP surveillance programme is conducted to increase case yield of poliomyelitis, the virus causing polio.
•   This includes collection of two stool samples within 14 days of onset of the paralysis, identification of the virus, control of the outbreak and strengthening immunisation in that area.

  Polio statistics 

•   In 2007, 255 cases of polio detected across the country
•   In August 2007, a four-year-old girl from Janakipada, Vasai died from the disease
•   The first case of polio in the state last year was detected in Amravati
•   Five cases detected in the state in 2006


*   We will confirm polio only after the report comes in, which will take at least three weeks – Dr Suchitra Binderiya, WHO Surveillance Officer