Lucknow: Twenty-five new polio cases over the past week have been detected in Uttar Pradesh, stoking fears of a resurgence of the disease that was once nearly wiped out in the country.
The new reports raised the number of polio cases detected in UP this year to 438, official at the state's health department, A K Mishra, said.
Mishra said health officials have been asked to launch an extensive immunisation drive on Sunday with a target to cover at least 50 million children across the state.
Some new polio cases have also been reported from other parts of the country.
Three years ago, India came close to wiping out the paralysing disease after an intense nationwide vaccination campaign. But a combination of factors, including illiteracy and superstitious beliefs, have kept many children from receiving the immunisations.
"There must be something wrong somewhere with the polio eradication program," UP Health Minister Ahmad Hasan said. "It is a matter of concern as to why there is a sudden spurt of polio cases".
Most of the new polio cases in UP have been reported from Muslim-dominated areas, officials said.
A myth among Muslims that the polio vaccine can cause impotence in adulthood has resulted in hundreds of children going without immunisation.
In the past, banners and posters were put up in villages warning Muslims against allowing health workers into their homes and propaganda spread that polio vaccine is a form of sterilisation and a Western ploy to reduce the Muslim birth rate.
Authorities in the state have sought help from Muslim clerics to dispel these fears.
"A majority of Muslims (in Uttar Pradesh) are illiterate," Maulana Khalid Rashid, a cleric in Lucknow said. "They do not have scientific knowledge and believe in what people of their locality say".
He said clerics have been advising Muslims that the polio vaccine is good for their children.
The government has also roped in celebrities including superstar Amitabh Bachchan and cricket star Sachin Tendulkar for its anti-polio campaign.
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