Panic grips Kashmir over child death rumour from polio drops

The J&K health department had set up as many as 11,000 booths across the state and made over 2.5 million doses available at these as part of first phase of Pulse Polio campaign for this year launched by the commissioner secretary health and medical education department, Dr M.K. Bhandari, at Government Hospital, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, on Sunday morning.

Hospitals in Srinagar and other hospitals of the Kashmir valley witnessed a massive rush after rumours of children’s death due to polio vaccine surfaced in the state on Sunday.

We appeal people to ignore such kind of rumours.

“Police have been fanned out across the valley to hunt for the people who created huge panic among valleyites”, Gilani said.

The unprecedented rush at the hospitals came as a surprise for the hospital authorities, who were unable to convince the people and cope with the rush.

Talking to AIR, IGP Kashmir Javed Mujtaba Gillani said the rumours primarily emanated from social networking sites Facebook and WhatApp. Meanwhile, people across Kashmir have expressed gratitude to the media, doctors, health department officials besides police for helping the people in such a panicky situation.

The health officials told people the vaccination program was safe and they should get their children immunized in the next two days.

Witnesses reported wailing and panicked women thronging hospitals with their children, who had been administered the polio drops earlier during the day. State immunization officer Yangthan Dolma had requested people not to pay heed to any rumours suggesting that children had died after being administered polio drops in the valley.

Polio is a contagious viral disease that affects the nerves and is transmitted through fecal contaminated water or food.