Why Polio vaccine is mandatory for all children below 5 years in India?
Polio virus is very infectious and it spreads through fecal oral route in the countries, where sanitation facilities are poor. Wild polio virus infects a susceptible young child, when he eats improperly handled, fecal contaminated food. Virus multiplies inside the intestines of an infected child. The child keeps shedding the virus continuously through feces and in between, make other children sick too. It is important to deprive the virus from susceptible hosts through vaccination. So, in case of Polio, herd immunity plays a major role. This can be achieved when the entire community is immune to the virus. Young children are given repeated vaccination on all Pulse polio days to give them complete immunity to Polio disease. Oral Polio vaccine is mandatory for all children below 5 years under routine immunization program.
How has the Polio situation improved after vaccination?
In pre-vaccination era, 1 in every 200 children used to be affected by Polio. Vaccination has helped immensely to reduce the cases and even eradicate Polio altogether from major parts of the world. World Health Organization (WHO) has certified India as a Polio free nation on March 27, 2014.
Polio oral drops and injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine should be given to all the children below 5 years to gain complete immunity from Polio virus.
Why is Polio considered a serious disease?
Polio causes permanent paralysis in the infected young children. Most polio-infected people (~ 90%) have no symptoms. They are just carriers. Others, 10% will have initial symptoms of fever, fatigue, vomiting, headache, stiffness in neck and limbs pain, finally leading to paralysis. Polio is a debilitating disease which has no cure at all. Heat and physical therapy, along with antispasmodic drugs are used to alleviate the symptoms, but nothing can reverse the permanent polio paralysis. Prevention is the only savior. Hence, the Polio vaccine is mandatory for all children below 5 years.
Why is Polio vaccine mandatory even after eradication of Polio?
In India, Polio has been eradicated. The risk of Polio outbreaks is still looming because of neighboring Polio affected countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Polio vaccination drive is essential to curb the circulation of wild polio virus between boundaries. This needs to be done till Polio disease is eradicated from the whole planet. Polio vaccine is mandatory for all children below 5 years in all Polio affected countries as well as their neighboring countries.