The number of Measles Rubella (MR) cases in the city fell to 81 in 2025 from 115 in 2024 due to increased vaccination, while Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) cases rose to 41 from 30 during the same period, according to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) data.
AFP is defined as the sudden onset of weakness and floppiness in any part of the body in a child below 15 years of age, or paralysis in a person of any age who may have polio.
The PMC has five health zones across Pune, of which Zone 3, including areas of Sinhgad Road, reported the highest number of AFP cases at 18 in 2025. On the other hand, Zone 5, including areas of Kasba-Vishrambaug Wada, Bibvewadi, Bhawani Peth, etc., reported the highest number of MR cases at 37 in 2025.
Health department officials said that better immunisation coverage and special campaigns helped improve the overall MR and AFP coverage. The rise in AFP cases was attributed to the outbreak of GBS early in 2025.
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 children were tracked and vaccinated. Also, we conducted campaigns in madrassas and ashram schools, and it helped prevent any outbreak.”
“The vaccine-preventable disease (VPD) surveillance is basically surveillance for vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, measles, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus. This surveillance was crucial to detecting as many AFP cases as possible so that all samples could 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 by the wild polio virus. Therefore, we send all AFP patients’ stool samples for testing, along with samples from the sewage treatment plants in Baner,” Dr Dighe added.
