Pune: The number of measles,rubella (MR) cases in the city fell to 81 in 2025 from 115 in 2024 because of increased vaccination, while acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) numbers rose to 41 from 30 in the same period because of the Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) outbreak, shows Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) data.Patients with MR show symptoms of acute fever and maculopapular rash or are identified as such by a doctor or a healthcare worker. An AFP case is defined as a sudden onset of weakness and floppiness in any part of the body in a child less than 15 years of age or paralysis in a person, who may have polio, of any age.The PMC has five health zones of which zone 5 — including areas of Kasba-Vishrambaug Wada, Bibvewadi, Bhawani Peth, etc — reported the highest number of MR cases at 37 in 2025. Health dept officials said that better immunisation coverage and special campaigns helped improve the overall MR vaccination coverage. On the other hand, the rise in AFP cases was attributed to the outbreak of GBS early in 2025. The year saw zone 3 — including areas in Sinhgad Road — reporting the highest number of cases at 18.PMC assistant health officer Dr Rajesh Dighe said, “We were able to control the spread of MR because of 99% coverage. A Unicef team conducted a special campaign for the remaining 1% wherein even drop-out kids were tracked and vaccinated. Also, we conducted campaigns in madrassa and ashram schools and it helped prevent any outbreak.”Dighe said it was crucial to detect as many AFP cases as possible, so that all samples may be checked for polio. Any paralysis case, which could be caused due to multiple reasons like GBS or encephalitis, is labelled as AFP.“However, the main intention in detecting these cases is to ensure that it is not caused due to wild polio virus. Therefore, we send all AFP patients’ stool samples for testing, along with samples from the sewage treatment plants. The surge in GBS in 2025 also led to a rise in AFP numbers. This is nothing to worry about, as all samples tested negative for wild polio virus,” he added.
