BOMDILA, Oct 29: The WHO’s State Surveillance Officer (SSO), Dr Ushma Dharod has highlighted the poor quality of reporting on acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance in Arunachal.
Sharing the AFP reporting data of the Northeast states during a ‘district task force meeting-cum-workshop on AFP surveillance and measles-rubella surveillance status’ at the DC’s conference hall here in West Kameng district on Thursday, Dr Dharod disclosed that Arunachal stood at the bottom (No 13) and Assam topped the list of AFP surveillance data by 369 in 2019.
“The declining rate of AFP reporting has been noticed in the state with only six numbers of cases in 2020 from 36 numbers in the year 2012,” she said.
Dr Dharod also pointed out the nil reporting on measles and rubella in West Kameng district since 2018, whereas, she said, as per the expected minimum case ratio, “there should be at least
one reporting of APV and two of measles and rubella from West Kameng district.”
She said that “AFP can be detected with symptoms like sudden onset of weakness and floppiness in any body part of a child upto 15 years of age, or paralysis in any person with suspected polio case.”
Dr Dharod further informed that there is no age limit for measles and rubella and “it can be detected with symptoms of fever and maculopapular rash with cough, running nose, red eyes, node enlargement and joint pains.”
Dr TD Namsa informed that “the second quarter of routine immunization (RI) has covered 81 percent and full immunization (FI) has covered 64 percent of its target so far.”
Deputy Commissioner Karma Leki, who presided over the meeting, asked the district’s health department to keep coordinating with Dr Dharod to keep West Kameng free from measles-rubella. (DIPRO)