PM, Musharraf may administer polio vaccine

By P. Sunderarajan

NEW DELHI, JUNE 28. The Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, and the Pakistan President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, are likely to administer doses of oral polio vaccine to children during their coming summit as part of an effort to give a push to the endeavour to totally eradicate the crippling disease from the world.

Highly-placed sources said the Prime Minister's Office had approved the proposal, but it remained to be seen whether it could be fitted into the schedule.

The move, if it comes through, would be of great significance. Though the number of polio cases had come down in both the countries following the introduction of the pulse polio programme a few years ago, they still accounted for a significant portion of the global burden of the disease.

According to figures available with the World Health Organisation, last year there was a total of 676 laboratory- confirmed cases across the world, and of these 267 were reported from India and 200 from Pakistan. This year, so far 16 cases have been reported in India and 18 in Pakistan. The WHO has set 2005 as the deadline for the total eradication of the disease from the face of the earth.

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