The World Health Organization (WHO) has said for the first
that South-East Asia is polio-free. It said 11
were clear of the disease. The WHO website said: "This is the
of six WHO
…marking an important
towards global
of polio – a highly infectious virus." Around 80 per cent of the world's population now lives in polio-free
. One of the newly-certified countries is India, which as
as 2009, had almost 50 per cent of the world's polio
. India hasn't seen a
polio case for the last three years.
Polio is
. It attacks the nervous system and can cause
paralysis in hours. It can result in death. Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh of the WHO said: "This is a
victory for the millions of health workers who have worked with governments…and international
to eradicate polio from the region." She added it was a
of how working together can help
generations. Dr Singh cautioned against becoming
in the fight against the disease. She said polio was still a
risk and that Asia's polio-free
"remains
".