POLIO: Indian State Complains To WHO About Vaccine Quality

Following the detection of 26 new polio cases in India's Uttar Pradesh state, officials there have complained to the World Health Organization about the low quality of vaccines they received three months ago.   "We intimated our dissatisfaction with the stuff being provided to UP and asked them to be careful next time," said Sardar Singh, state minister of family welfare.

Some of the 26 cases came from areas with 100% vaccine coverage and from children who have received eight to 10 doses of the vaccine, Singh said.  The WHO dismissed the cases as "insignificant," Singh said.  "We were told that the children who contracted polio were weak and had low level of immunity," he said, adding that the organization assured the state officials of a "better consignment" in the future (Manjari Mishra, ( Times of India, 13 Aug).