Two children die after being given polio drops- Bihar, India

[Subramaniyan K]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage ... cf2d9a1f3b

Two children, including a two-day-old baby, died after being
administered polio vaccines in Bihar, health officials said on
Tuesday.

A two-day-old girl died on Monday in Munger town, about 150 km from
the state capital here, soon after she was given polio drops.

"My daughter died within half an hour after she was given polio
drops," the girl's father Yamuna Mahto said.

Mahto said he and his wife took the newborn to a government hospital
for BCG vaccination but officials forcibly administered polio drops
that resulted in her death.

A three-year-old girl in the same town also died Monday after she was
given polio drops.

Her father Ramashish Singh said his daughter was administered polio
drops by hospital employees although he told them she had been brought
there for treatment of cough and cold.

Parents of both children have demanded strong action against the
hospital officials.

Reports said several children have fallen ill in Gaya, Patna,
Darbhanga and Munger districts after being administered polio drops.

"There was nothing wrong with the drops but we will investigate the
matter," Munger civil surgeon Bhola Prasad Singh said.

Last year, Bihar recorded 244 new polio cases, the highest since the
polio immunisation drive was launched in the state nearly a decade
ago.

Experts have blamed the rise in polio cases on devastating floods and
the failure of the polio eradication campaign in reaching out to
marginalized people in far-flung areas.

Bihar recorded 158 polio cases in 1998 when the polio immunisation
drive started, and subsequently 123 in 1999, 49 in 2000, 22 in 2001,
121 in 2002, 18 in 2003, 39 in 2004, 30 in 2005 and 61 in 2006.

It was found that even children vaccinated against polio were getting
infected with the disease.

Health Minister Chandramohan Rai said: "The rise in polio cases has
posed a big challenge for us."

Most of the new cases were detected in Araria, Kishanganj and Purnea
districts, official sources said.

According to official records, half a dozen rounds of immunisation
drives as well as special immunisation rounds have been carried out
over the past one year.

"Polio remains a big challenge not only for the state and the central
governments but also for the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the
United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) that have been trying hard to
stamp out the disease," said a health department official.

The Unicef and the state health department have identified 28 blocks
for an intensified anti-polio campaign aimed at eradicating the
disease from Bihar by the end of 2008.

Worried about the rise in polio cases, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
along with legislators and NGOs took a pledge earlier this month to
root out polio from Bihar.

India's annual budget for polio eradication is pegged at over Rs.10
billion but the detection of new cases in Bihar shows the country
still has a long way to go before the disease is wiped out completely.

from www.Hindustantimes.com

Subramaniyan.

[Shannon Nelson]

What makes this especially sad, is that polio is (or so I read) one of
those serious diseases that have been completely cured simply by large
doses of vitamin C--preferably intravenous, tho I doubt that would be
necessary in most cases. *This* is the sort of thing that health care
"research" dollars should be researching!
Shannon

[mary hughes]

Yes, but there's no money in vit c, so how would the research dollars be recouped?

mary

Robert & Shannon Nelson wrote:
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[Tanya Marquette]

and the National Chamber of Commerce has just made
a committment to invest millions of dollars to attack
the populist candidates who are not pro-business enough!!!!
big pharma being one of the biggest industries will be
the winner.
tanya

[Shannon Nelson]

A very topical question!
As with research in homeopathy, the costs should not be as high as in
testing pharmaceuticals, and I would *think* it could be within reach
of (at least the larger) manufacturers to contribute to research
funding (as some say the homeopathic pharmacies should be doing). That
would raise the cost of supplements, but perhaps would not need to
raise the cost much? (Just my guess.) Maybe--as with homeopathy--the
issue is less about money, and more about coming together, coordinating
efforts, and planning? (Again, I am only guessing.)

But--and this is my strongest feeling--maybe this is another area (as
with presidential elections) where government could very properly be
funding *independent* research, in the interests of that good ol'
"greater good", and level the playing field somewhat. But it would
seem we're a long way from where that could become feasible...

But also--some studies *are* being done. I don't know who's funding
them, and whether any are still being done by "independent" researchers
e.g. at universities. But I read about the studies here and there, in
"alternative" health care newsletters. Isn't it a shame that more
*doctors* aren't reading about them too!
Shannon

[Shannon Nelson]

Tanya,
Is that US, or what country?

[Tanya Marquette]

usa, of course!
tanya

[Shannon Nelson]

I've never heard of the National Chamber of Commerce, but it does sound
like exactly what I'd expect of one of ours, sigh...

[Tanya Marquette]

i am sure you have of the Chamber of Commerce. There
are local chapters all over the country. But there is
also a National organization that umbrellas them all.
as a local member, i get on their e-mail list and receive
their monthly newsletter. most of it is objectionable to
me but this month's lead article was stood out in a
neon light kind of way. what galls me is the the organization
is supposed to be non-partisan but i constantly find
talk about particular candidates, etc.
tanya

[Soroush Ebrahimi]

US National Chamber of Commerce seems to have no web presence!

Regards

Soroush