Health Minister Launches Anti-Polio Drive

Patna: July 7, 2008

Bihar Health Minister Nand Kishore Yadav, at the New Gardener Road Hospital in Patna on Sunday, kicked off the year's 6th round of polio vaccination by administering polio drops to a number of children while urging the parents to ensure their offspring were adequately treated for the disease.

"We cannot conquer polio without the active participation of the parents. This is a battle that must be fought from all fronts but the role of parents in this rather unending fight against polio is even more important than many seem to realize," Yadav said.

So far this year nearly 200 children across 28 districts in Bihar have been affected by the P3 polio virus with a large number coming from Samastipur district, said Dr. A. R. Siddiqui, the UNICEF Polio Coordinator, adding one case of the extremely deadly P1 virus had been found in Saran district.

Civil Surgeon Dr. Pranav Kumar, Rotary representative Dr. Kanhaiya Prasad and representatives from the World Health Organization were also present at the event.