India on Monday marked three years since its last case of polio was reported, a major public health success for a country that until recently accounted for most of the world’s cases.
“Proud day for all of us as Indians,” Junior Home Minister RPN Singh wrote on Twitter. “India is polio-free for three years.” That is the official time period without a case for a country to be considered free of a disease by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The achievement was due to a massive immunisation programme, Health Ministry spokeswoman Manisha Verma said, adding that the WHO was to formally certify India polio-free on 11 February after checking the data.
“India was once thought to be the most difficult country in which to achieve polio eradication,” the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said in a statement.
In 2009, India’s 741 polio infections accounted for nearly half the world’s total. But a public immunization campaign made 2010 a turning point with only 42 cases.
Over the past decade, India’s polio eradication programme involved 2.3 million health workers and volunteers. More than 170 million children under the age of 5 have been vaccinated annually.
The last polio case was recorded on January 13, 2011 in West Bengal state. In 2012, the WHO removed India from the list of polio-endemic countries. The disease remains officially endemic in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
Polio is a highly infectious viral disease, mainly affecting children younger than 5. It can cause permanent paralysis and death, but can be prevented through immunization. The virus is spread through contaminated food and water.