Polio Virus!!! Telangana declares global emergency

Hyderabad: A ‘global emergency’ was sounded by the government of Telangana after an active strain of wild polio virus was detected in the water sample collected from a drain.

The global emergency prompted to airlift two lakh vaccines from Geneva to inoculate more than three lakh children in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts as a ‘preventive measure’ from Wednesday, said officials.

The Vaccine Derived Polio Virus (VDPV) strain has not been seen in the country for more than five years.No case of polio, however, has been reported so far, doctors said.

"The government has decided to conduct a special campaign against polio in Hyderabad and parts of Ranga Reddy from June 20 to 26," said Rajeshwar Tiwari, principal secretary, health.