NEW DELHI: India has seen a 94% decline in polio cases, giving the country a real chance to finally eradicate the crippling disease. Compared to 741 cases of polio in 2009, India recorded just 42 cases in 2010. The number of affected districts too saw a sharp fall from 90 in 2008, 56 in 2009 to just 17 in 2010.
The last six months have seen the lowest number of polio cases during the high transmission season (July-September) in any year. Polio hotbed Uttar Pradesh reported just 10 polio cases in 2010 compared to 602 cases in 2009. The state has also not reported a single polio case since April 2010. Bihar, another state badly affected with polio virus, has also reported a sharp drop.
Health ministry data shows that Bihar had nine polio cases in 2010 against 117 in 2009. Bihar also reported only three polio cases since February 2010.
Speaking to TOI, health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said, “At this rate, we will finally be able to totally eliminate polio very soon. The single oral bivalent vaccine that protects against the two deadly strains of polio, P1 and P3, is working wonders. We are going all out with this vaccine.”
India’s expert advisory group on polio has emphasized that the intensity of activities for polio eradication should be maintained at this critical stage with detection of wild polio virus anywhere in India dealt with as a public health priority activity.
Read more: Eradication close with 94% drop in polio cases – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Eradication-close-with-94-drop-in-polio-cases/articleshow/7272947.cms#ixzz1AwisOa8f