Milestone conquered by India

Posted by Linda Curtis On Friday, January 13th 2012 in Health

India has managed to move one step closer to becoming a polio free country. In 1995 the country started a massive project in order to drive the sickness away and today India managed to complete a whole year without a single case of polio being reported. The last case of polio reported was last year on January 13th.

“UN officials tell me that hopefully by early next year we shall be able to announce that India is finally free of polio,” wrote UNICEF brand ambassador Amitabh Bachhan last month.

A round of applause was prepared for the passing of the milestone. Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, gave a statement in which he applauded the Indian government for protecting the children from the debilitating disease.

"Polio can be stopped when countries combine the right elements: political will, quality immunization campaigns and an entire nation's determination. We must build on this historic moment and ensure that India's polio program continues to move full-steam ahead until eradication is achieved," he said

However, India still has a long way to go before it can become a polio free country.

“To be totally polio free, the WHO stipulates that there should be no case of paralytic poliomyelitis by wild polio virus in last three calendar years. So, if there are no polio cases by wild polio virus in 2012 and subsequent years we can call India has eradicated poliomyelitis in 2015,” explained Dr AK Dutta, the head of the department of pediatrics at Kalawati SC Hospital, Delhi.