Haryana polio-free since 2010: Official

Chandigarh, July 10 (IANS) No new case of polio has been reported in Haryana since January 2010 and it is free from the disease, a health official said here Tuesday.

"Haryana has been a polio-free state since January 2010 and no case of polio has been found in the state," said a spokesman of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

Denying reports that a minor girl in Karnal district was suffering from polio, the spokesman said that the girl had been notified and examined in November last year by doctors.

Sneh, daughter of Sher Singh and resident of village Darbarki Khurd, was found to be suffering from an ailment other than polio, he said.

"Sneh was notified by Dr. Dahiya, paediatrician, and investigated by Dr. Shashi Prabha, deputy civil surgeon, Karnal, on Nov 18, 2011 and found to be a case of non-polio enterovirus (NPEV)," the spokesman said.

He further said: "This is a case of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP). We do surveillance of polio by reporting and investigating all AFP cases. There are many causes of AFP and all AFP cases are examined in the laboratory to confirm whether these are polio or not."

"As many as 519 AFP cases have been reported in the current financial year from April till date. The case of Sneh is one of them," he added.

He said that the Pulse Polio campaign was being effectively implemented in Haryana to keep it polio-free.