They Shot For Zero, But Couldn't Squash Polio In 2013
As we near the end of 2013, NPR is taking a look at the numbers that tell the story of this year. Numbers that, if you really understand them, give insight into the world we're living in, right now. Over the next two weeks, you'll hear the stories behind numbers, ranging from zero to 1 trillion.
The lowest number of polio cases ever recorded in the world was 223. And 2013 was on track for an even lower number, on the road to complete eradication of the virus.
But this was a year when polio pushed back. Hard. The virus reappeared in Somalia and Syria. It showed up in sewer systems in Israel. It spilled out of Nigeria into Cameroon. Pakistan saw a spike in cases.
Even so, global health officials are still confident that polio can be defeated soon.
The Setbacks
Spokeswoman Sona Bari with the World Health Organization in Geneva says, yes, there were disappointments in 2013.
"If you look just at the number of cases, of course, we have a large rise in cases over 2012 to 2013 — more than a 70 percent rise in cases," Bari says. "We have eight countries reporting polio, as opposed to four last year at this time."
Polio had hit a historical low in 2012 with only 223 cases reported worldwide. New outbreaks this year in the Horn of Africa and Syria surpassed that all by themselves.
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