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April 1, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"U.S. Says Polio Cases Are Dropping"

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (03/28/02); McClam, Erin

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday that there were just 537 cases of polio reported worldwide last year, with 473 confirmed in laboratories.  In 2000, there were 2,971 cases of polio reported, and 719 were confirmed in labs.  The disease is now found in just 10 nations worldwide, concentrated primarily in Pakistan, India, and Nigeria.  As part of the global effort to eradicate polio, countries have conducted massive vaccination campaigns, and the CDC and World Health Organization are working on a plan to prevent the disease from re-emerging once it has been eliminated.

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