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Delhi govt?s ?clerical error? brings smallpox, polio back to Capital
Smallpox, the highly contagious disease, was eradicated from the world in 1980 and India was declared polio-free in 2014.
INDIA Updated: Aug 03, 2017 07:14 IST
Anonna Dutt
New Delhi, Hindustan Times
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Two people died of smallpox and 11 of polio in the Capital last year, says a Delhi government report.
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?It is not possible. There has to be some mistake. The last polio case in the country was in 2011 and smallpox hasn?t been around for years,? a union health ministry official told Hindustan Times when asked about the annual report on registration of births and deaths in Delhi.
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?Definitely no one can contract smallpox, as the virus is not there globally. The only smallpox virus left today are in laboratories, which are highly contained making it impossible for the virus to escape,? said Dr AC Dhariwal, director of the National Centre for Disease Control.
He said many times chicken pox is mistaken for smallpox.
There was still a possibility of people getting polio as the virus was in circulation in neighbouring countries.
?However, these deaths might have been in persons who had contracted the disease years ago as no new cases of wild polio have not been reported in years,? Dhariwal said.
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There are other discrepancies, too. The report says 206 people died of dengue in 2016, though only 10 such deaths were recorded by civic bodies, which are tasked with compiling dengue, chikungunya and malaria data.
Smallpox, the highly contagious disease, was eradicated from the world in 1980 and India was declared polio-free in 2014.
INDIA Updated: Aug 03, 2017 07:14 IST
Anonna Dutt
New Delhi, Hindustan Times
...
Two people died of smallpox and 11 of polio in the Capital last year, says a Delhi government report.
...
?It is not possible. There has to be some mistake. The last polio case in the country was in 2011 and smallpox hasn?t been around for years,? a union health ministry official told Hindustan Times when asked about the annual report on registration of births and deaths in Delhi.
...
?Definitely no one can contract smallpox, as the virus is not there globally. The only smallpox virus left today are in laboratories, which are highly contained making it impossible for the virus to escape,? said Dr AC Dhariwal, director of the National Centre for Disease Control.
He said many times chicken pox is mistaken for smallpox.
There was still a possibility of people getting polio as the virus was in circulation in neighbouring countries.
?However, these deaths might have been in persons who had contracted the disease years ago as no new cases of wild polio have not been reported in years,? Dhariwal said.
...
There are other discrepancies, too. The report says 206 people died of dengue in 2016, though only 10 such deaths were recorded by civic bodies, which are tasked with compiling dengue, chikungunya and malaria data.
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