Polio case in West Bengal wrong: Health Ministry

Central Health Ministry has said that the so-called polio case of 18 years girl, Sumi Naskar from West Bengal, which had alleged that she is suffering from polio has been tested negative.

According to Health Ministry statement that two stool samples of the girl were collected on 13 March and 14 March and sent to the Institute of Serology Kolkata for investigation. Stool samples are collected from all AFP cases and tested to rule out polio as a cause of the illness. both the stool samples of the child were found negative for polio in the Institute of Serology Kolkata. As thorough investigations were being carried out, a section of media flashed Sumi's case as a 'polio case' and reporting it as a huge setback to India's polio eradication program, statement says.

Sumi is one of the many AFP cases detected this year and investigated for polio. In 2012 so far, around 9,000 AFP cases have been investigated by NPSP with the support of local health authorities. All the stool samples of these AFP cases have tested negative for polio.

India has not reported any case of polio since 13 January 2011 and has been struck off the list of countries with active endemic wild polio transmission in February 2012, statement says.