Telangana may conduct anti-polio drive in 700 booths

The proposed special campaign by Telangana government, in the wake of a particular type of polio virus being found in a sample here, is likely to be carried out at 700 booths. "The campaign, to be conducted from June 20 to 26, would be carried out at 700 booths," said Lalitha Kumari, Director of Public Health and Family Welfare. She said the campaign will be held as a precautionary measure as per official protocols and would be targeted at children in the age group of six weeks to three years. The drive would be conducted here and in parts of Ranga Reddy with the main objective to cover areas from where the water was coming into the sewerage treatment plant. The virus (vaccine derived polio virus type-II) was found in lab tests conducted on samples of sewerage water collected at a treatment plant in Amberpet here, state government's Principal Secretary (Health) Rajeshwar Tiwari had said yesterday. The virus was found in the checks conducted as part of the monitoring system put in place after polio was eradicated in the country in 2011. Meanwhile, Union Health Ministry today said the wild polio virus (P2 strain) being found in a Hyderabad drain was a vaccine derived virus and does not change the polio-free status of India.