Polio fact file: Still endemic in three countries

Poliomyelitis infections dropped from 350,000 in 1988 to 650 last year: WHO

PARIS: One of the curses of the 20th century, polio has declined by 99 per cent in less than a quarter of a century, but still has a bolt-hole in three countries, including Pakistan.

Thanks to one of the world’s most ambitious vaccination campaigns, poliomyelitis infections dropped from 350,000 in 1988 to 650 last year, according to the WHO.

In 1988, the tragic disease was endemic in more than 125 countries.

Today, it is found only in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria, where conflict, poverty or resistance by extremists hamper efforts to make polio the second human disease after smallpox to be eradicated.

These havens mean polio remains a global threat, experts say. The virus can use even one person as a springboard for reconquest among an unvaccinated population.

“Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in as many as 200,000 new cases every year, within 10 years, all over the world,” a WHO factsheet said.

Poliomyelitis is transmitted by a virus that enters the body through the mouth, usually in faecally-contaminated water or food.

Last year, Pakistan reported the highest number of polio cases in a decade, with 198 in total, compared to 144 in 2010, The Lancet reported in February.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2012.