The victim, Rohit R. Shelke, who was detected as 'polio positive' around two weeks ago, breathed his last at the Maharashtra Institute of Medical Science and Research (MIMSR) Medical College, Latur.

In a severe setback to the government's efforts to make the country polio-free, an 11-month-old male child succumbed to the dreaded virus in a government hospital in Maharashtra late Saturday, an official said.

The victim, Rohit R. Shelke, who was detected as "polio positive" around two weeks ago, breathed his last at the Maharashtra Institute of Medical Science and Research (MIMSR) Medical College, Latur, MIMSR dean Deepti Dongaonkar said Sunday.

The child hailed from Khanapur village in the Dharur block of Beed district, in the backward Marathwada region of the state.

According to information available from health officials, the child was paralysed on 4 May and was admitted to the SRTR Hospital in Ambejogai, Beed, which suspected that he could be polio positive.

Later last month, the samples were also tested at the MIMSR, Latur, which diagnosed it as 'P2' polio virus.

IANS