India set to be declared polio-free
Massive vaccination campaign pays off, with nation set to be certified as clear of crippling virus still endemic in neighbouring Pakistan
India yesterday marked three years since its last reported polio case, meaning it will be formally certified as having defeated the scourge in a huge advance for global eradication efforts.
The landmark is seen as confirming one of India's biggest public health success stories, achieving something once thought impossible, thanks to a massive and sustained vaccination programme.
With the number of cases in decline in Nigeria and Afghanistan, two of only three countries where polio is still endemic, world efforts to consign the crippling virus to history are making steady progress.
"In 2012, there were the fewest numbers of cases in endemic countries as ever before. So far in 2013 (records are still being checked), there were even less," Hamid Jafari, global polio expert at the World Health Organisation said.
"If the current trends of progress continue, we could very easily see the end of polio in Afghanistan and Nigeria in 2014," added Jafari, hailed as having played a crucial role in India's victory.
Despite the success, isolated polio outbreaks in the Horn of Africa and war-wracked Syria emerged as new causes for concern in 2013.
Countries are certified by the WHO as being polio-free if they go 12 months without a case, and are then said to have eradicated it after a period of three years without new infections. India will likely receive this endorsement around early March.