2012-01-18 16:42:04

Indian nation almost polio-free, say experts


(Jan. 18, 2012) India, once a major sufferer from polio, has achieved a major milestone with not a single new case reported for a year, health experts said recently. Lieven Desomer, head of the polio unit at UN children’s agency UNICEF in India said a concerted government campaign against wild polio, made it possible in a country which had recorded 150,000 polio cases in 1985. He said a new and more efficient oral vaccine against the affliction introduced in 2010 also contributed greatly. In 2010, 42 cases were registered in comparison with 741 the previous year. “It is a big achievement and a good development but that does not mean we can relax at this point”, said
Fr. Mathew Abraham, Secretary, Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India’s health care office. “We have to work harder to eradicate the disease completely as it can resurface any time,” he said. Fr. Abraham said that the Catholic Church was part of the government’s initiative to fight polio and it will remain as a partner. Being the second largest health provider after the government, the Church has always been in the forefront in the fight against any kind of disease, he added.
Fr. Tomi Thomas, the Director General of CHAI - the Catholic Health Association of India said “This achievement goes to prove that any health issue, however big it may be, can be easily tackled with persistent effort and commitment.”








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