WASHINGTON (CMC) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says the Caribbean has not recorded a case of “wild poliovirus,” over the past 25 years.

It said that the last case of the disease in the Americas was reported on August 23, 1991, in Peru.

PAHO said the countries off the Americas, including the Caribbean, have been able to eliminate polio and maintain the Americas free of the disease by achieving high rates of vaccination coverage of children and through sustained epidemiological surveillance to ensure early detection of any outbreaks.

“Thanks to the strong commitment and hard work of the countries of the Americas, as well as health workers, donors, and other partners, poliomyelitis is now a fear that belongs in the past for parents in our region,” said Cuauhtémoc Ruiz Matus, head of PAHO’s Expanded Programme on Immunization.

“It is critical that we continue vaccinating so that polio disappears from the world. This is something we have been working toward for 30 years.”

In 1975, PAHO said nearly 6,000 cases of polio were reported in the region, adding that, in 1991, the last six cases were detected.

Three years later, in 1994, the disease was formally declared eliminated from the region, PAHO said, noting that since then no child has been paralysed by polio in the Americas.

PAHO said poliomyelitis is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis in a matter of hours.

It especially affects children under age five, said PAHO, adding that there is no cure, but it is preventable.

When administered several times, PAHO said the polio vaccine can provide lifetime protection.

More than 15 million people around the world who are walking today would be paralyzed if not for vaccination, PAHO.

In addition to providing technical assistance, PAHO said it has contributed to polio elimination by helping the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean procure most of the vaccines, syringes, and supplies they use in their immunization programs.

The PAHO said its Revolving Fund has provided continuous supply and affordable prices with high quality standards.

PAHO said as the first region of the world to eliminate polio, the Americas led the way toward a world free of the disease.

Globally, PAHO said there are now fewer cases than at any time in history: Just 27 cases of wild poliovirus had been reported worldwide as of October 11 this year, compared with 51 cases in the same period last year.

PAHO said only three countries have detected polio cases in 2016, namely Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria, with the latter reporting in August that two children had been paralyzed by the disease, after two years of no detected cases.

PAHO said four of the six World Health Organization (WHO) regions have been certified as polio-free, and only one of the three types of wild poliovirus (type 1) continues to circulate in the world.