Among all Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) cases so far investigated in 2008 in India, five cases of polio virus type 1 and 272 cases of polio virus type 3 are confirmed, experts said adding that eradication was only a matter of time.

All the five cases of polio virus type 1 are from the state Bihar. Rest of the world had already eliminated this virus type some years back, they said.

The good news is that Western Uttar Pradesh which still has the prevalence of polio virus type 3 is completely free from polio virus type 1, they said during the WHO workshop for early polio detection process hosted by the Indian Council of Medical Research’s Enterovirus Research Centre in Mumbai.

“It is emphasized that Polio type 2 is already eradicated globally in 1999. We feel that great progress has been made towards goal of Polio eradication,” Dr Nalini Ramamurty, Virologist, WHO South East Asia Region said on Thursday at the concluding day of the workshop ‘Alternate Algorithm in Polio Surveillance Programme’.