India marks three years without polio
India today Monday 13th
– January, 2014 marked three years since its last polio case was reported, a
major milestone in eradicating the crippling disease.
The
marker puts the country on course to being formally declared polio-free in
March. The World Health Organization stills need to confirm there are no
undetected cases before making the official declaration.
An 18-month-old baby
detected with polio in January 2011 in Howrah near the eastern city of Kolkata
was the last reported case of the disease in the country.
India was once thought to be the most
difficult country in which to achieve polio eradication, with widespread
poverty, dense population, poor sanitation, high levels of migration and a weak
public health system made the task of reaching out to every child under age 5
that much more difficult.
For India, the victory
against polio is its second major health achievement. In 1980, it succeeded in
eliminating smallpox through a sustained immunization campaign.
An
army of nearly 2.5 million volunteers, doctors and medical workers carried out
a rigorous campaign across the country to vaccinate children over a period of
three years to wipe out the scourge. The number of polio cases came down from
741 in 2009 to 42 in 2010. The last case of polio was reported in eastern India
in 2011.
In
2012, WHO removed India from a list of countries with active endemic wild polio
transmission after it passed one year without registering any new cases.
Health
officials remained concerned about the possibility of the virus entering the country
from neighboring Pakistan, where a spate of cases has been reported. Indian
health authorities have set up polio immunization booths at the two border
crossings with Pakistan and all children who enter by road and train are being
given vaccines.
Last
month, New Delhi announced that travelers from Pakistan would have to show
proof that they have been administered the oral polio vaccine at least six
weeks prior to their departure for India. Travelers to India from Kenya also
were told to get an additional dose of oral polio vaccine at least six weeks
before they depart.
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 age 5 when they drink contaminated water. The
virus attacks the central nervous system, causing paralysis, muscular atrophy,
deformation and, in some cases, death.
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 age 5 when they drink contaminated water. The
virus attacks the central nervous system, causing paralysis, muscular atrophy,
deformation and, in some cases, death.
The Executive Board (EB) will meet in Geneva on 20-25
January, ahead of the EB 134th session.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) published the
report: “Poliomyelitis: intensification of the global eradication initiative”.
The full report is available in English - Here
Reported by:
Suleiman Oshioke Yakubu
Technical Consultant at CDC - Nigerian Stop the Transmission of Polio (NSTOP)
Reported by:
Suleiman Oshioke Yakubu
Technical Consultant at CDC - Nigerian Stop the Transmission of Polio (NSTOP)
Mobile: +2348029584568
Email: iamsuleiman2003@yahoo.com
Twitter: #iamsuleiman
skype: oshiokeyakubu
Related Links:
(2) Poliomyelitis: intensification of the global eradication initiative
(3) India marks three years without polio - http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2014/01/india-wins-battle-against-polio-201411355459437799.html
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