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According to WHO sources, India has largest number of polio victims in Asia. India is clearly the closest to stopping P1 as the key areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have made tremendous progress in reducing P1 cases, but, they do not seem to achieve total eradication goal. WHA has asked India to carry out a large-scale vaccination campaigns in areas where the most virulent polio virus is prevalent in the hope that it becomes the first endemic country to eradicate the crippling disease.
Assembly also expected that India could expect fewer polio cases in 2008 as compared to the last two years - 870 cases in 2007 and 674 cases in 2006 - with P1 nearing interruption and the P3 outbreak curtailed. The Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and Health Secretary Naresh Dayal attended the assembly. Assembly was of the opinion that country was close to the eradication of polio but due to polio cases in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar it has not been possible. Assembly is hopeful about the fact that soon India would be able to eradicate polio from its land by a large scale campaign.
