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The World Health Organization (WHO) has said for the first time that South-East Asia is polio-free. It said 11 countries were clear of the disease. The WHO website said: "This is the fourth of six WHO regions…marking an important step towards global eradication of polio – a highly infectious virus." Around 80 per cent of the world's population now lives in polio-free regions. One of the newly-certified countries is India, which as recently as 2009, had almost 50 per cent of the world's polio cases. India hasn't seen a single polio case for the last three years.

Polio is incurable. It attacks the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in hours. It can result in death. Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh of the WHO said: "This is a momentous victory for the millions of health workers who have worked with governments…and international partners to eradicate polio from the region." She added it was a sign of how working together can help future generations. Dr Singh cautioned against becoming lazy in the fight against the disease. She said polio was still a global risk and that Asia's polio-free status "remains fragile".