Administration Prepares for Anti-Polio Campaign
Patna: June 28, 2007
 Patna District Magistrate Dr. B. Rajendra, at a workshop on Polio Eradication and the Role of Media, in Patna on Thursday, said the administration would launch the 7th polio immunization campaign on July 1 during which thousands of children across the state would be given polio shots while adults would be made aware of the ill-effects of tobacco products.
"Polio is a dangerous ailment and the government alone could not eradicate the disease unless it has full cooperation from the ordinary people and public officials including the block mukhia and local health officials, the DM said.
Rajendra also said that some people were reluctant to allow their children to be given polio shots due to some rumors or false information thus jeopardizing the health of the young ones. "This is a very serious matter and people must extend their support to the health officials who go from village to village in an attempt to immunize the children for a healthy future for them," he said.
"By the time we finish two rounds of our campaign in the state, nearly three lakh new babies are born in Bihar. This makes the health officials' job extremely difficult to identify such children and administer polio drops to them particularly when the parents are reluctant to participate in the program," said UNICEF health expert Dr. S. Warki.
A number of health officials including the WHO consultant Dr. M. J. Abdin, IMA president Dr. Basant Singh, Dr. Arun Thakur, Dr. A. K. Jaiswal, and Dr. Utpalkant Singh were present at the event sponsored by the UNICEF.
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