Polio Cases Increase Worldwide in 2002

The global campaign to eradicate polio suffered a setback last year as the number of cases of the disease increased nearly fourfold, with India accounting for a major proportion of the rise, U.S. health officials said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 1,920 confirmed cases of polio were reported by laboratories in 2002, up from 483 the previous year.

The agency attributed most of the rise to a large outbreak in India, one of seven countries where the virus is still endemic. The Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar accounted for 1,362, or 71%, of the world’s cases in 2002.