India completely eradicates polio

India completely eradicates polio

The World Health Organization is preparing to declare India a polio-free country next February, 3 years after the last case of the disease was recorded in the country.

It is noteworthy that there is a certain official period during which no cases of the disease must appear in order for the World Health Organization to declare that a country is free of it.

This achievement is a great success for the health sector in India, which had the most cases of the disease in the world until recently.

“It is a proud day for us as Indians, as India has been polio-free for three years,” said State Minister of Home Affairs RP N Singh on his Twitter account.

The spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health, Mansha Verma, said that this achievement is due to the strong vaccination program, adding that the World Health Organization will officially announce the news on February 11, after confirming the necessary data that no new cases have been recorded.

“In the past, India was considered the most difficult country to eradicate,” the Global Polio Eradication Initiative said in a statement.

It is noteworthy that the last case of the disease was recorded on January 13, 2011 in the state of West Bengal, and the World Health Organization removed India from the list of countries where this disease is considered an epidemic.

The disease is still considered an official epidemic in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.