As part of Polio Day, a nationwide Pulse Polio Immunization drive was conducted on March 3 to administer polio drops to children below the age of five. Health workers from across the country worked tirelessly to reach every child falling in the said age category. A video of a health worker from Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district has been gaining widespread attention online. The video shows the health worker walking through deep snow to reach the Health and Wellness Centre of the area so as to be able to administer polio drops.
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“To make sure that every child is completely protected from polio, health workers from Kishtwar district of J&K braved 4-5 feet of snow to reach every child aged 0-5, administering them polio drops as a part of #PolioDay today,” wrote All India Radio (AIR) News while sharing a video on Instagram.
The video opens to show a health worker, carrying a blue-coloured polio vaccine box, trudging through 4-5 feet deep snow. The camera then pans to show the entire area covered in snow, including the Health and Wellness Centre of Sukhnai village. Towards the end of the clip, one can see the health worker inside the centre with a few children.
Watch the video below:
Polio and its symptoms
Polio is a condition caused by a virus that mainly affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem. The virus can be transmitted through contaminated water or food or by coming in contact with an infected person. In some cases, it can even cause paralysis. Though most people infected with polio don’t develop symptoms, some may experience flu-like symptoms initially, such as fever, headache, nausea, loss of appetite, etc.
{{/usCountry}}Polio is a condition caused by a virus that mainly affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem. The virus can be transmitted through contaminated water or food or by coming in contact with an infected person. In some cases, it can even cause paralysis. Though most people infected with polio don’t develop symptoms, some may experience flu-like symptoms initially, such as fever, headache, nausea, loss of appetite, etc.
{{/usCountry}}There are two types of polio: paralytic and non-paralytic. While both types of polio start with the same symptoms, paralytic polio can progress to intense pain, extreme sensitivity to touch, muscle weakness and spasms. It may ultimately lead to paralysis of the leg or arm.
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Polio immunisation
As per the guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every child needs to receive at least four doses of the polio vaccine. The first dose should be administered when the child is two months old, followed by another at four months of age. The next doses should be administered between 6 months and 18 months of age, and the final one should be given when the child is between 4 and 6 years old.