This is a historic moment for all those who, since 1988, have been looking forward to seeing poliomyelitis forever eradicated.
The disease is no longer endemic in Egypt or Niger, leaving Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan as the only countries in which indigenous poliomyelitis is still present.
"Polio has been endemic in our country for all of recorded history," said Egyptian Minister of Health Dr. Hatem Mostafa El-Gabaly. "The best tools of our age finally defeated this enemy which has been with us from pharaonic times."
Interruption of circulation of wild polio virus in endemic zones is vital in order to avert transmission to countries currently free from polio.
World Health Organization (WHO)