A FLAME has been making its way across parts of England this week to recognise the fact that India has become the latest nation to be declared polio-free.
As chief executive of The British Polio Fellowship I would like to offer my praise to this great initiative from Rotary International, who are behind the torch relay, and join them in shouting about this great step in the quest for polio eradication.
The torch will visit various towns and cities across the globe including Sydney, Toronto and Madras, as well as the British Rotary clubs of Northampton, Cambridge and Bath in celebration of the End Polio Now campaign.
New cases of polio are now confined to only a handful of nations, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the disease was eradicated in much of the Western world during the 1990s.
However, there is still a problem with polio that affects approximately 120,000 polio survivors in the UK alone. This problem is the late effects of polio and post polio syndrome.
PPS is a debilitating neurological condition which causes symptoms such as weakness, chronic fatigue, reduction in stamina and cold intolerance — and The British Polio Fellowship continues to try to raise awareness.
Although the breakthrough in India is great news for the battle against polio, let us not forget those still living with PPS here in the UK.
Ted Hill MBE (via email)
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