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May 13, 2002

INTERNATIONAL IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Nigeria Still [Among] 10 Polio-Endemic Countries"

Xinhua News Agency (202.84.17.11/en/main.htm) (05/13/02)

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Sunday that Nigeria is one of the last 10 polio-endemic countries in the world, despite the government's attempts to eliminate the disease by year-end 2002.  Global efforts to eliminate polio helped to reduce the number of endemic countries from 20 in 2000 to 10 last year.  The remaining polio-endemic countries are India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Niger, Somalia, Egypt, Angola, Ethiopia, and the Sudan.  According to the WHO, the number of polio cases recorded worldwide declined significantly in 2001, for a total of 537 cases last year.

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