Twelve fresh polio cases have been reported from different parts of the country, including one from Delhi, taking the total number to 338 this year.
Out of the 12 fresh cases, 10 are from Uttar Pradesh, which has so far reported 301 polio cases. The Health ministry has confirmed one polio case in the capital.
"This is an outbreak," a ministry official told PTI, adding that more worrying them was the fact that those areas which were free from polio last year, are reporting it this year. These areas are Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh and West Bengal.
The
viral paralytic disease enters the body through mouth due to contaminated water or food. It infects the intestinal walls and then enters the bloodstream and the central nervous system.
Health Minister Ambumani Ramadoss had earlier said that seven to 15 per cent children had missed the immunization programme this year. He announced that he will be visiting Uttar Pradesh and interacting with the minority community, who are not taking the vaccine after rumours that it will make their children impotent.
In the November anti-polio drive those areas will be covered that have been affected by the virus.
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