VIJAYAWADA: After the recent cases of contaminated bivalent oral polio vaccines (BoPVs), manufactured by Biomed, were administered in Telangana, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, Krishna health authorities said the vials available in the district were not contaminated and ‘perfectly fine’.
However, they admitted that the contaminated polio vaccine vials had reached the district.
Soon after the State government’s call to stop using them, the stock was sent back to the Centre in the second week of September itself, the officials said.
Not just in Krishna district, the contaminated stock was circulated in a few other districts too. Soon after detection of the contamination, the entire stock was called back and sent to the Centre.
Almost a month back, the district administration had stopped oral polio vaccination, which is given to children under the age of five.
Presently, children, since the last two days, are being vaccinated with a new batch of vials that was recently dispatched by the Centre.
Speaking to TNIE, Krishna Medical and Health Officer I Ramesh said: “I am not very familiar with the recent developments as I took charge recently. However, we have been asked to hold the vaccination process and send the stocks back to the Centre. Currently, polio surveillance teams are monitoring the situation. As of now, everything is normal in the district and vaccination process has been resumed as the new stocks are available.”
Every year, in Krishna alone, over 10 lakh doses of oral polio vaccines is given to children. The district has around 3.7 lakh children aged below five years.
Surveillance intensified:
The health ministry officials have confirmed that some vials of polio vaccines are contaminated with the type-2 poliovirus.
At least three batches of polio vaccines containing 1.5 lakh vials were found to be contaminated with the virus
The WHO and health ministry have intensified surveillance in UP, Telangana and Maharashtra