WHO: Number of 2005 polio cases jumps

Wednesday, June 22, 2005; Posted: 10:27 a.m. EDT (14:27 GMT)

In 1988, The World Health Organization launched a drive to eradicate polio globally through massive immunization efforts.

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- The number of confirmed polio cases has reached 243 in Yemen, a country that was once believed to have been free of the disease, the chief of the World Health Organization said.

Yemen accounts for nearly half of the 533 cases in the world this year as of June 15, said Dr. Lee Jong-wook, the agency's director-general. A recent outbreak in Indonesia has brought the number of cases there to 51, he said.

"The threat of a polio importation is a real and continuing one," Lee said Tuesday. "The recent importation to Yemen and Indonesia...


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