India marks three years since last polio case

Ajit Basrur

Leader
Admin
India has marked three years since its last polio case was reported, a major milestone in eradicating the disease.

The marker puts the country on course to being formally declared polio-free in March. The World Health Organisation (WHO) still needs to confirm there are no undetected cases before making the official declaration.

Polio is a vaccine-preventable disease that has been eradicated in most countries. But it still causes paralysis or death in some parts of the world, including Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Polio usually infects children under five when they drink contaminated water. The virus attacks the central nervous system, causing paralysis, muscular atrophy, deformation and, in some cases, death.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/13/india-marks-three-years-since-last-polio-case
 

Ajit Basrur

Leader
Admin
As a followup, there are 10 more Asian countries that have been declared "polio free" by the World Health Organization (WHO). They are -

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste.

There are only three countries where polio is still endemic ? Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/201...ree-of-polio-as-india-declares-health-victory
 
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