Zahedan University of Medical Sciences

In 2015, only 2 countries (Afghanistan and Pakistan) remain polio-endemic, down from more than 125 in 1988. As long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio. Most of Afghanistan is polio-free. The country has not yet interrupted transmission of wild poliovirus. While most cases in 2014 were due to poliovirus imported from neighboring Pakistan, there is also ongoing transmission of virus within Afghanistan. Similarly, most of Pakistan is polio-free. The country has never interrupted transmission of wild poliovirus. Transmission is intense in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and periodically spreads to other parts of the country and internationally. In most countries, the global effort has expanded capacities to tackle other infectious diseases by building effective surveillance and immunization systems.