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Mapping the End of Polio Polio eradication is a top priority for the foundation, a primary focus for me, and a powerful example of the importance of accurate measurement. Starting in 1988, organizations including the US. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rotary International, UNICEE, and the World Health Organization, along with many countries of the world, agreed to the goal of eradicating polio. Targeting an explicit goal focused political will and opened purse strings to pay for large-scale immunization campaigns that led to very rapid progress. By 2000, the virus had been wiped out of the Americas, Europe, and most of Asia. The number of global polio cases has been under 1,000 cases for the last two years, but getting rid of the very last few cases is the hardest part. For some diseases like smallpox--which was visible on the skin--you can track where the cases show up and focus on vaccinating children in those areas. However, polio takes weeks to confirm, and over 95 percent of people infected with the polio virus never develop symptoms--so they can spread the virus without anyone realizing it. That's why it' called "silent transmission" In order to stop the spread of infections, health workers have to vaccinate nearly all children under the age of five multiple times a year to achieve the necessary immunity thresholds in polio-affected countries. It's estimated that this threshold is 80 to 95 percent in the parts of Africa and Asia that still have polio. Achieving consistent coverage levels to reach these thresholds requires timely, accurate, local measurement so you can see where you are falling below the threshold, figure out what is wrong, and fix it. Last January, after years of battling the disease, India celebrated a full year without a single case of polio. Most people expected India to be the most difficult place to eliminate polio because of its densely crowded urban areas, huge rural areas in the North, poor sanitation, large mobile The Last Percent 'The number of polio cases dropped by 99 percent from 1988 to 2000, from 350,000 cases to less than 1,000, yet it's challenging to eradicate the virus. India is a good sign: Once home to the majority of polio cases in the world, the country has been polio-free since 2011, thanks to innovative approaches to eradication. 2,000 -- India reports zero cases 1,500 -- d 5= 1,000 -- F , a 500 -- o- 'oo '01 0304050607 "08 091011 "12 © Total Global Cases "As of 1/15/2013 i Total India Cases SOURCE: World Health Organization & Global Polio Eradication Initiative