Perhaps due to this pathetic state of affairs; December 21, 2008 all over Bihar full preparations have been made to administer polio dozes by mobile teams to children of family living in under-construction urban colonies, semi-urban areas, brick kilns, stone quarries, premises of small and big industrial units and remote forest areas. Transit booths would be constituted to administer polio dozes to children at bus stands, railway stations, crowded markets and mela areas. Earlier also, health department, government, non-government organisations, voluntary bodies and citizens have extended their co-operation in making the pulse polio campaign successful. The state government has appealed to all these bodies to make Pulse Polio campaign a success.

Interestingly, In India, inoculation in opposition to polio was initiated in 1978 under Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and the coverage achieved by 1984 was around 40 per cent of all infants with 3 doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). In 1985 the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) was started on and executed in phased comportment to envelop all districts of all the states in the country by 1989-90.

After completion of long battle against polio in India too it is far from over in Bihar, which has recorded the second highest occurrence of the ailment in India in 2008 after bordering Uttar Pradesh.

As per health official sources Bihar has witnessed 230 new polio cases till the third week of December 2008, one of the uppermost as the polio inoculation was launched in the state nearly a decade before.

Bihar witnessed 158 polio cases in 1998 while the polio vaccination constrain in progress, and afterward 123 in 1999, 49 in 2000, 22 in 2001, 121 in 2002, 18 in 2003, 39 in 2004, 30 in 2005, 61 in 2006 and 193 cases (36 P1 and 178 P3) in 2007.

Due to the frightening circumstance of polio cases in UP, MP and Bihar; India is one of the four countries in the world where polio is widespread. According to the Global Polio Eradication Imitative, Nigeria reported 728 polio cases this year, with India at second place, followed by Pakistan (81) and Afghanistan (22).

The considerable augment in the occurrence of polio in Bihar state has led to a great deal apprehension and bewilderment in the middle of the state of wellbeing of officials. The state sets unmatched with respect to the number of polio cases in the state. An immense polio vaccination programme for stipulation of polio drops to offspring fewer than five years of age has been launched in 10 dissimilar districts lately.

Millions of children under five years were given polio drops in a countrywide immunisation programme on December 21, 2008.

According to health officials millions of rupees had been spent in Bihar in the vaccination, but eradication of the disease was still far from over due to insubordination of a piece of the populace. Regular reported cases of polio in rural areas among children who had been administered the drops was also matter of great concern for everybody.

According to a senior UNICEF official "Fresh cases of polio in the state have become a stumbling block in polio annihilation in India."

Again; according to state health officials, most of the polio cases were being detected in Araria, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Siwan, East Champaran, Madhepura and Sitamarhi districts.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Anbumani Ramadoss is worried about the sorry state of affairs of Bihar. He had recently stated that India could save at least Rs.10 billion in health expenditure if Bihar was to get rid of polio.

Over 40 pulse polio immunization rounds have been conducted in Bihar since December 1995. In spite of that situation is still startling.

However, hope is still alive. Now it is duty of citizens of Bihar, administration and the government to cope with this havoc with consistence efforts. If synergy among said segments materialises, the dream of eradication of polio will certainly come true.