Journal article

Accounting for polio survivors in the post-polio world

International organisations promise that we can soon hope to live in a polio-free world, but for millions of polio survivors the struggle is not over. Sophie Cousins reports. Ahmedabad, Gujarat—Bharat Popat was infected with polio at the age of 1 year. The now 58-year-old has vague memories of his childhood. He was fitted with a steel caliper on his left leg, which had been affected by the disease, before receiving corrective surgery at the age of 15. The surgery enabled him to live a relatively normal life in a country that is poorly equipped for disabled people. That was until he was 51 years old. “I was walking without any assistance after my corrective surgery until suddenly at 51 I developed unusual symptoms”, Popat told The Lancet at Suresh Brahmakumar Bhatt (SBB) College of Physiotherapy at Vadilal Sarabhai General Hospital in Ahmedabad, the capital of the western Indian state of Gujarat. “At 6 pm every evening I would get extreme pain in my right leg, which is not my polio leg. I had to get help to reach my car after work as I just couldn\'t walk. I would again feel normal in the morning.”

Authors

Languages

  • English

Publication year

2017

Journal

The Lancet

Volume

100078

Type

Journal article

Categories

  • Service delivery

Diseases

  • Polio

Countries

  • India

WHO Regions

  • South-East Asia Region