New polio cases reported in Myanmar

Jakarta (Indonesia): While Bangladesh and Myanmar have reported new polio cases this year, the first since 2000.

There has been progress in India in the worldwide eradication efforts to fight the paralysing disease, a World Health Organisation official said on Monday.

Bangladesh has logged three cases this year, while Myanmar has reported one, all imported from endemic countries, said Sona Bari, a spokeswoman for the WHO's polio eradication initiative in Geneva.

Each country's last reported case was in April. Nepal has also had a case this year, in addition to four from last year.

Indonesia, which struggled with an outbreak last year that paralysed 303 children, has seen two cases this year, the last in February after intensive national vaccination campaigns.

Last year's cases were the first in a decade.

"It's winding down," Bari said of the cases in Indonesia. "We're very hopeful for all those campaigns" he added.

The virus is carried into polio-free nations and travels silently in sewage-contaminated water before latching onto unvaccinated children in the form of a high fever, sometimes leaving them paralysed.

One of the scariest aspects of the disease is how widely it can spread unnoticed.

On an average, only about one in 200 cases will result in paralysis.

Endemic countries in Asia, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, have continued to see cases this year with eight and three, respectively.

"I think we're definitely making progress in India," Bari said. "It's down to such a few numbers of districts. We're very, very hopeful," he added.