Update: progress toward poliomyelitis eradication–South East Asia Region, 1995-1997

In 1988, the World Health Assembly established the goal of global poliomyelitis eradication by the year 2000. Since then, substantial progress has been reported from all World Health Organization (WHO) regions by implementing strategies to prevent, detect, and interrupt transmission of poliovirus. In WHO’s South-East Asia Region (SEAR), the successful application of these strategies has resulted in a 96% decrease in the number of annually reported polio cases during 1989-1996 (from 25,711 cases to 1116 cases). Acceleration of intensified surveillance continues to be critically important for identifying the remaining reservoirs of poliovirus circulation for targeted mass vaccination campaigns. This report summarizes data on progress in SEAR toward polio eradication as of April 1, 1997, and updates previous reports.