Around 36 lakh children in Chhattisgarh would be immunised against polio in a statewide campaign beginning Sunday, state immunisation officer Subhash Pandey said here Saturday.

While the first phase of the drive for children below the age of five would be held Sunday, the second phase would be conducted Feb 23.

Apart from other staff, 80,000 officials of the health department have been engaged for the work to be carried out in about 23,600 centres the government has set up across the state, both in rural and urban areas.

The government has set up transit camps in markets, public places, railway stations and deputed transit teams for the interior and inaccessible areas.

Polio also known as poliomyelitis is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system. Children younger than five years old are more likely to contract the virus than others. The virus does not have a cure but can be prevented with a vaccination.

Its most severe form causes paralysis, difficulty in breathing, and sometimes death. It has been more than 11 years that there has been no report of any polio case in the state.

  Chhattisgarh, immunise 36 lakh kids, polio drive