How vaccines helped India defeat polio while Pakistan become a reservoir for the virus

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

In 2002 India suffered 1,599 cases of polio, 17 times more than Pakistan experienced that year, according to the World Health Organization. Yet a little more than one decade later India has eradicated polio, while a city in Pakistan is being called the world’s “largest reservoir” of the virus.

India was once viewed as the biggest challenge in the campaign to eradicate polio, with its densely populated cities, poor sanitation and weak healthcare system aiding the virus and undermining vaccination teams. Through a combination of government commitment, close collaboration with international partners and the introduction of a bivalent polio vaccine, India overcame these problems. Last week marked three years since the last case of polio in India.

Source: Fierce Vaccines (link opens in a new window)

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Health Care
Tags
governance, vaccines