In a move designed to prevent the entry of the polio virus into India, people travelling to and from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Syria, Kenya, Somalia and Nigeria will have to take the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), the Ministry of Health said today.
The said countries remain affected by polio, prompting the government to issue these directions weeks after India celebrated the eradication of polio from its soil.
People travelling to and from these countries will need to take OPV six weeks before departure from their country. The new polio vaccination regime came into effect on March 1, an official statement said.
"Years of effort and huge financial resources have been invested by India for stopping polio. We cannot risk importation of the poliovirus, which is getting bigger and bigger with recent outbreaks in the Middle East and earlier in the horn of Africa," it said.
The preventive step has been initiated as per the recommendations of the national and international expert bodies and guidelines of World Health Organisation, said Additional Secretary Anuradha Gupta.
India has not reported any polio cases in over three years. Along with the remaining countries of WHO's South East Asia region, it will soon be certified polio-free.
However, the risk of polio persists as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria continue to be polio-endemic and re-infected six countries in 2013 and caused major polio outbreaks in the horn of Africa and the Middle East, it said.
WHO Representative to India, Nata Menabde, said, "WHO supports the initiative for making polio immunisation a requirement for travellers from and to the polio-affected countries.
