Lessons from the polio eradication campaign

India has just won a landmark victory in the long-drawn-out war on polio. Fourteen months have gone since 13 January 2011 without a single case of polio caused by wild poliovirus (WPV). But how sure are we that in this vast country, with about 125 million under-five children and a poorly performing health management system, there is no case of wild virus polio? Rest assured, India’s polio eradication project is a shining example of how India can pull itself together, even without a robust infrastructure, and solve ad hoc, specific problems. India has really eliminated WPVs.