More good news on the war against polio

Africa close to being polio free:

Nigeria and the whole continent of Africa is on the cusp of being polio free,

Between 2013 and 2014, the reported cases of polio dropped from 53 to just six in Nigeria. Even more encouraging is that the last case of polio in Nigeria was reported in July, 2015 and the last case in all of Africa was reported in Somalia in August.

With a year of no polio cases in Nigeria tantalizingly close, and no cases in Somalia since August, the tireless work of so many people across the continent is paying off. As long as polio exists anywhere, it will continue to be a threat everywhere.”

Sunday April 12 marks 60 years since the Salk polio vaccine was declared safe, effective, and potent. In that time, the number of polio cases has dropped by 99 percent worldwide. With just three countries remaining polio-endemic, we are closer than ever to eradicating this crippling disease.

Jonas Salk’s inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) has been crucial in helping us reach our goal of a polio-free world. Before the vaccine was widely available, in the United States alone, polio crippled more than 35,000 people each year. By 1957 -- two years after the introduction of Salk’s vaccine -- cases in the U.S. had fallen by almost 90 percent, and by 1979, polio had been eradicated.