India gets to keep polio free tag

India has heaved a sigh of relief. A suspected case of polio from West Bengal has tested negative, keeping the country’s “polio free” tag intact. Both samples of 18-month-old Sumi Naskar have tested negative for polio. The Institute of Serology, Kolkata, submitted its report on Friday. Sumi is one of the many cases with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and polio is only one of the several causes of AFP. In 2012 so far, around 9,000 AFP cases have been investigated. India, therefore, has now recorded only one vaccine-derived polio case. India has not reported any case of polio since January 13, 2011.