Polio cases rising in one of world’s last two countries where disease still endemic
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Polio cases rising in one of world’s last two countries where disease still endemic

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Pakistan has reported six new polio cases, taking the total number of children infected with the virus to 39, health authorities in the South Asian country said. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the world’s last two countries where polio remains endemic. Since 1988, wild poliovirus cases have dropped by more than 99 per cent, from an estimated 350,000 cases across 125 endemic countries to just six reported cases in 2021. The journal Science reported in July this year that the Global Polio Eradication Initiative was facing a significant setback in its efforts to eliminate wild poliovirus from its last strongholds in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan Reported Virus Cases Polio Cases Wild Poliovirus Type Wild Poliovirus Poliovirus Type  countries  worlds  poliovirus  type  health  endemic  reported  polio  wild  virus  cases  pakistan  sign  disease  rising

History of this topic

Pakistan begins last anti-polio vaccination campaign of the year after a surge in cases
3 weeks, 3 days ago

Pakistan begins last anti-polio vaccination campaign of the year after a surge in cases

Associated Press  

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan on Monday began its last nationwide vaccination campaign for the year to protect 45 million children from polio after a surge in new cases hampered efforts to stop the disease, officials said. According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only two countries where the potentially fatal, paralyzing virus hasn’t been stopped, Pakistan …

Pakistan reports four new polio cases, year's tally rises to 63
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Pakistan reports four new polio cases, year's tally rises to 63

New Indian Express  

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported four new polio cases, bringing the crippling disease's total in the country for the year to 63--more than a ten-fold increase from last year's tally of just 6 cases. Despite repeated countrywide polio vaccination campaigns, two new cases were detected on Friday in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces each, the Dawn newspaper reported, citing a …

Pakistan reports 3 new poliovirus cases, yearly tally rises to 55
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Pakistan reports 3 new poliovirus cases, yearly tally rises to 55

New Indian Express  

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reported three new poliovirus cases from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces taking the total number of infections this year to 55, according to a media report on Monday. The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the three wild poliovirus type 1 cases, The Dawn newspaper reported. Dera Ismail Khan, …

Polio outbreak in Pakistan: This year’s tally at 50, new case from area where gunmen targeted health workers
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Polio outbreak in Pakistan: This year’s tally at 50, new case from area where gunmen targeted health workers

Firstpost  

Pakistan has reported its 50th polio case of the year. AP Pakistan detected one more polio case in the restive northwest bordering Afghanistan, raising the country’s tally of the infectious disease to 50 cases this year, officials said Wednesday. The latest case was detected in Tank, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where militants often target polio workers and police …

Pakistan reports new polio case in northwest, raising nationwide tally to 50 cases this year
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Pakistan reports new polio case in northwest, raising nationwide tally to 50 cases this year

Associated Press  

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan detected one more polio case in the restive northwest bordering Afghanistan, raising the country’s tally of the infectious disease to 50 cases this year, officials said Wednesday. The latest case was detected in Tank, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where militants often target polio workers and police assigned for anti-polio campaigns, according to a statement by …

Pakistan reports 50th polio case in 2024
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Pakistan reports 50th polio case in 2024

Op India  

Pakistan’s National Emergency Operations Centre reported another polio case, bringing the total number of cases this year to 50, ARY News reported on Tuesday. According to NEOC, the National Reference Lab identified the latest case involving a 20-month-old girl from Tank district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ARY News reported. This is the second polio case reported from Tank this year, with …

Polio Cases Surge in Pakistan, Two New Cases Detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province
2 months ago

Polio Cases Surge in Pakistan, Two New Cases Detected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province

The Hindu  

Two new polio cases have been reported in Pakistan, bringing the yearly tally to 45. The cases surfaced in the Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan provinces, marking the second outbreak this year. WPV1, the causative virus, has been detected in 76 districts, highlighting a widespread transmission risk. The vaccination campaign, which began on Monday, aims to vaccinate over 45 …

Pakistan begins new nationwide polio vaccination campaign after surge in new cases
2 months, 1 week ago

Pakistan begins new nationwide polio vaccination campaign after surge in new cases

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Pakistan began a nationwide vaccination …

Two New Polio Cases Detected in Sindh, Pakistan
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Two New Polio Cases Detected in Sindh, Pakistan

The Hindu  

Pakistan reports two new polio cases, bringing the tally to 39 this year. The cases were confirmed in the Sindh province, marking the first polio cases in the province since April. The latest cases are a girl and a boy, and come after four cases were reported a day earlier. Pakistan has reported 39 cases of poliovirus this year, with …

Gunmen kill a polio worker and a policeman during a vaccination campaign in Pakistan
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Gunmen kill a polio worker and a policeman during a vaccination campaign in Pakistan

Associated Press  

KHAR, Pakistan — Gunmen on motorcycles opened fire Wednesday on police escorting a team of polio workers during a door-to-door vaccination campaign in northwestern Pakistan, killing an officer and a polio worker, police said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, according …

Setback for Pakistan as Islamabad reports first polio case in 16 years
4 months ago

Setback for Pakistan as Islamabad reports first polio case in 16 years

India TV News  

Islamabad: In a major setback for Pakistan's efforts to eradicate the poliovirus, authorities on Friday confirmed the first polio case in the capital Islamabad in the last 16 years. “This is the first human case reported from Islamabad in the last 16 years,” an official statement said, adding that the newest case marked the 17th polio case this year in …

Wasn't polio wiped out? Why it is still a problem in some countries
4 months, 1 week ago

Wasn't polio wiped out? Why it is still a problem in some countries

Hindustan Times  

Polio was eliminated from most parts of the world as part of a decadeslong effort by the World Health Organisation and partners to wipe out the disease. Stopping polio outbreaks means vaccinating at least 95% of the population everywhere, including in conflict-ridden countries and poor regions with broken health systems and other priorities. But it contains weakened, live polio virus …

Health Talk | Understanding vaccine-derived polio and its implications
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Health Talk | Understanding vaccine-derived polio and its implications

Hindustan Times  

Last week, a two-and-a-half-year-old child in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills tested positive for poliomyelitis, commonly known as polio. Vaccine-derived poliovirus is a strain of poliovirus that has mutated from the strain originally contained in oral polio vaccines. However, the reporting of vaccine-derived cases does not indicate the return of wild polio, which was officially eradicated in India in 2014, as …

Meghalaya’s polio case derived from vaccine: Officials
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Meghalaya’s polio case derived from vaccine: Officials

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi: The case of polio confirmed in a child from West Garo Hills in Meghalaya on Tuesday involves what is termed vaccine-derived polio, which is not uncommon, confirmed an official from the Union ministry of health and family welfare on Wednesday. “It is a case of vaccine derived polio that has been detected in a 2.5 years old child …

Grave concern: On wild-type poliovirus type-1 cases in Pakistan, Afghanistan
6 months ago

Grave concern: On wild-type poliovirus type-1 cases in Pakistan, Afghanistan

The Hindu  

The ambitious goal of eradicating wild-type poliovirus type-1 by 2026 appears to have become tougher. With Afghanistan and Pakistan reporting six WPV1 cases each in 2023 — there were two cases in Afghanistan and 20 cases in Pakistan in 2022 — the total incidence of type-1 cases in both countries in 2023 might appear to have nearly halved. The circulation …

Will Pakistan ever be able to eradicate polio?
6 months, 1 week ago

Will Pakistan ever be able to eradicate polio?

Al Jazeera  

Six poliovirus cases have been reported so far this year along with numerous positive samples. Health workers have begun a campaign to vaccinate 9.5 million children against polio in 41 districts in Pakistan this week. Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif, however, said the government “remains steadfast” in its aim to eradicate polio after a meeting with American billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates …

Rise in polio cases in Pakistan: Is there a way out?
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Rise in polio cases in Pakistan: Is there a way out?

Hindustan Times  

Last month, Pakistan reported its fifth case of the deadly virus. "The cases this year are a striking reminder that no child anywhere would be totally safe from the crippling disease until Pakistan succeeded in eradicating polio completely," said Malik Mukhtar Bharath, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coordinator on national health services. "Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to operate in a …

Pakistan confirms 5th polio case of year 17 days after victim's death
7 months ago

Pakistan confirms 5th polio case of year 17 days after victim's death

The Hindu  

Pakistan has confirmed the fifth polio case of the year, more than a fortnight after the victim's death, jolting the country's efforts to eradicate the crippling disease. With the onset of paralysis on April 29, the case was confirmed after six weeks on Saturday, instead of the usual three weeks taken for diagnosis, the report said, quoting an official at …

Pakistan reports fourth polio case of year
7 months, 1 week ago

Pakistan reports fourth polio case of year

The Hindu  

Pakistan has reported the fourth polio case of the year, jolting the country's efforts to eradicate the crippling disease. According to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad, the newest case was also of the Type-1 Wild Poliovirus, just like the previous three cases. The Prime Minister’s coordinator on National Health Services, Dr. Malik Mukhtar Bharat, said teams have been …

Polio: All you need to know about the viral disease
9 months, 3 weeks ago

Polio: All you need to know about the viral disease

Hindustan Times  

At its worst, polio causes paralysis: 'Polio Paul' Alexander had to spend 70 years in an iron lung after surviving the disease as a child. There are two types of polio present in the world today: Wild poliovirus and vaccine-derived poliovirus. Although vaccine-derived polio can take the form of any of the three types, type 1 is the only remaining …

Rare mutation forces Zimbabwe to start emergency polio vaccination drive
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Rare mutation forces Zimbabwe to start emergency polio vaccination drive

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ …

Zimbabwe starts an emergency polio vaccination drive after detecting cases caused by a rare mutation
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Zimbabwe starts an emergency polio vaccination drive after detecting cases caused by a rare mutation

Associated Press  

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe began an emergency campaign to inoculate more than 4 million children against polio on Tuesday after health authorities detected three cases caused by the rare mutation of the weakened virus used in oral vaccines, including a 10-year-old girl who was paralyzed in January. The health ministry said laboratory tests from samples collected from sewage sites in …

Parents in Pakistan could face prison time for not vaccinating their kids against polio
1 year, 3 months ago

Parents in Pakistan could face prison time for not vaccinating their kids against polio

Associated Press  

KARACHI, Pakistan — Authorities in one Pakistan province are turning to a controversial new tactic in the decades-long initiative to wipe out polio: prison. In January, roughly 62,000 parents, mostly in Pakistan’s Sindh province, refused polio vaccinations for their children, prompting authorities there to propose the new law with penalties. “Parents believe that’s because the government gets grants and donations …

Polio: Leading virologist offers a beginner’s guide to the different viruses and vaccines
1 year, 9 months ago

Polio: Leading virologist offers a beginner’s guide to the different viruses and vaccines

The Hindu  

On 17 March 2023, the World Health Organization announced that health officials in Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo had detected cases of vaccine-derived poliovirus. Global efforts since 1988, using oral polio vaccine to immunise children, have reduced wild poliovirus cases by 99.9%. The use of the oral polio vaccine containing attenuated or weakened virus, has brought the wild poliovirus …

Pakistan's first case of polio in 2023 reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
1 year, 9 months ago

Pakistan's first case of polio in 2023 reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

The Hindu  

Pakistan has reported its first polio case of 2023 after a three-year-old boy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district became the latest victim of the crippling disease, according to a media report on March 18. The Health Ministry on March 17 said the FAD and BMGF delegations met the Federal Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel to discuss avenues for cooperation in …

Pakistan’s War Against Polio Is Difficult and Dangerous
1 year, 11 months ago

Pakistan’s War Against Polio Is Difficult and Dangerous

The Diplomat  

On November 30, a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan suicide bomber blew himself up near a truck carrying police personnel protecting polio vaccination workers in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. A strategy that included religious figures worked: Resistance levels dropped from 4 percent in 2004 to 0.9 percent in 2012, according to a June 2013 UNICEF report, “Eradicating Polio: Working with religious leaders to enhance …

Pakistan launches new anti-polio drive amid spike in cases
2 years, 1 month ago

Pakistan launches new anti-polio drive amid spike in cases

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Pakistani authorities launched a new …

Vaccination & Vigilance Critical for Keeping India Polio-Free
2 years, 2 months ago

Vaccination & Vigilance Critical for Keeping India Polio-Free

News 18  

One in 200 polio infections can cause permanent paralysis, but thanks to the polio vaccine, 20 million people are walking today who would have otherwise been paralysed by polio. Survey reveals current vaccination gaps in India Despite India’s success in eliminating polio, data from India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare 2019-2021 National Family Health Survey,, 2019–21, shows that we …

Baby dies due to poliovirus as Pakistan seems failing to contain the crippling disease
2 years, 3 months ago

Baby dies due to poliovirus as Pakistan seems failing to contain the crippling disease

The Hindu  

A six-month-old baby died recently due to poliovirus in Pakistan, officials said here on Friday, as the country's effort to defeat the crippling disease seems to be failing. The baby boy was from the South Waziristan tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the health ministry said in a statement, adding that he had onset of paralysis in August. Attempts to …

Polio cases reported in Pakistan rise to 18 this year
2 years, 3 months ago

Polio cases reported in Pakistan rise to 18 this year

Al Jazeera  

A three-month-old boy in the southern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province becomes the latest victim of the virus. Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani health officials say a three-month-old boy is the latest victim of the polio virus, making him the 18th case reported in the country this year. Poliovirus found in Karachi The discovery of yet another polio case follows the detection of wild …

Polio in US, UK and Israel reveals rare risk of oral vaccine
2 years, 4 months ago

Polio in US, UK and Israel reveals rare risk of oral vaccine

Associated Press  

LONDON — For years, global health officials have used billions of drops of an oral vaccine in a remarkably effective campaign aimed at wiping out polio in its last remaining strongholds — typically, poor, politically unstable corners of the world. Since 2017, there have been 396 cases of polio caused by the wild virus, versus more than 2,600 linked to …

Kolkata sample: ‘Not wild poliovirus,’ says Health Ministry
2 years, 6 months ago

Kolkata sample: ‘Not wild poliovirus,’ says Health Ministry

The Hindu  

Not wild poliovirus but vaccine-derived poliovirus was detected in the environmental surveillance of sewage samples from Kolkata, said a senior Health Ministry official on Thursday. A VDPV is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in OPV and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus. Of the three strains …

Gunmen kill polio worker in Pakistan vaccination campaign
2 years, 10 months ago

Gunmen kill polio worker in Pakistan vaccination campaign

Associated Press  

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Gunmen in northwestern Pakistan shot and killed a female polio worker as she was returning home Wednesday after taking part in the country’s latest anti-polio campaign, police said. However, militants often target polio teams and police assigned to protect them in Pakistan, falsely claiming the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children. Since January last …

Malawi finds wild polio case; first in Africa in five years
2 years, 10 months ago

Malawi finds wild polio case; first in Africa in five years

Al Jazeera  

Investigations show infection is linked to a strain circulating in Pakistan’s Sindh province as WHO sends assistance. Malawi has declared an outbreak of polio after a young child in the country’s capital, Lilongwe, developed the disease in the first case of the wild polio virus in Africa in more than five years. “As long as wild polio exists anywhere in …

2022 Pakistan polio vaccinations key to eradication goal: Gates
2 years, 10 months ago

2022 Pakistan polio vaccinations key to eradication goal: Gates

Al Jazeera  

Islamabad, Pakistan – Continuing and sustained polio vaccination efforts in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2022 are likely to determine whether the world can entirely eradicate the debilitating virus, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has said on his first visit to Pakistan, one of the two countries where the disease remains endemic. Gates, a US-based billionaire who made his name as the …

Afghanistan returnees provided free polio vaccination: Health Ministry
3 years, 4 months ago

Afghanistan returnees provided free polio vaccination: Health Ministry

The Hindu  

The Health Ministry has decided to vaccinate returnees from Afghanistan with free polio vaccines as a preventive measure, tweeted Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Sunday. However, wild polio virus cases continue to be reported in neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan — the last two polio-endemic countries in the world. “Failure to eradicate polio from these last remaining strongholds could result in …

Africa now free of wild poliovirus, but polio threat remains
4 years, 4 months ago

Africa now free of wild poliovirus, but polio threat remains

India TV News  

Health authorities on Tuesday declared the African continent free of the wild poliovirus after decades of effort, though cases of vaccine-derived polio are still sparking outbreaks of the paralyzing disease in more than a dozen countries. The declaration leaves Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan as the only countries thought to still have the wild poliovirus, with vaccination efforts against the highly …

Africa now free of wild poliovirus, but polio threat remains
4 years, 4 months ago

Africa now free of wild poliovirus, but polio threat remains

The Hindu  

Health authorities on Tuesday are expected to declare the African continent free of the wild poliovirus after decades of effort, though cases of vaccine-derived polio are still sparking outbreaks of the paralyzing disease in more than a dozen countries. The declaration would leave Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan as the only countries thought to still have the wild poliovirus, with vaccination …

Why Africa’s success in eradicating polio is important today
4 years, 4 months ago

Why Africa’s success in eradicating polio is important today

Al Jazeera  

As the world battles a pandemic, Africa has become polio free. With no recorded cases since 2016, the African region has received certification as wild polio virus free by the World Health Organization – and this is one of the greatest achievements in public health history. Delivering polio vaccines to every child in the African region and wiping out the …

Why Africa’s success in eradicating polio is important today
4 years, 4 months ago

Why Africa’s success in eradicating polio is important today

Al Jazeera  

As the world battles a pandemic, Africa has become polio free. With no recorded cases since 2016, the African region has received certification as wild polio virus free by the World Health Organization – and this is one of the greatest achievements in public health history. Delivering polio vaccines to every child in the African region and wiping out the …

Pakistan resumes polio vaccinations after coronavirus hiatus
4 years, 5 months ago

Pakistan resumes polio vaccinations after coronavirus hiatus

Al Jazeera  

Door-to-door vaccination of more than 800,000 children under the age of five to be conducted in several cities. “Two major nationwide anti-polio drives have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which damaged our months-long momentum built to stem out the notorious polio virus from Pakistan,” said Dr Rana Muhammad Safdar, the chief of the government’s polio eradication programme. “Polio workers …

Pakistan: 2 polio vaccinators shot dead by gunmen
4 years, 11 months ago

Pakistan: 2 polio vaccinators shot dead by gunmen

India TV News  

Two polio vaccinators have been shot dead in Pakistan. Jihad Khan, Parmoli police station head, told EFE: "After doing their duty at 15:15 hours both were walking to deposit their kits when two unidentified gunmen riding a bike opened fire from their back. Unknown gunmen shot dead two policemen who were part of an immunization program in the country's volatile …

Afghanistan, Pakistan threat to success of polio eradication: Experts
5 years ago

Afghanistan, Pakistan threat to success of polio eradication: Experts

India Today  

The representatives from India, Canada, Australia, United States, France, and New Zealand recently met at a conference on protection from polio in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. India National PolioPlus of India told India Today that despite being polio free, polio cases are being seen in a large numbers in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The conference also issued an appeal to the people …

Polio cases in Pakistan rise to 94 this year
5 years, 1 month ago

Polio cases in Pakistan rise to 94 this year

India TV News  

The total number of polio virus cases detected in Pakistan has increased to 94, with three new ones reported from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a health official said on Thursday. An official of Polio Virology Laboratory at the National Institute of Health told Dawn news that the new cases were reported from Larkana in Sindh' and from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's …

More polio cases now caused by vaccine than by wild virus
5 years, 1 month ago

More polio cases now caused by vaccine than by wild virus

Associated Press  

LONDON — Four African countries have reported new cases of polio linked to the oral vaccine, as global health numbers show there are now more children being paralyzed by viruses originating in vaccines than in the wild. In a report late last week, the World Health Organization and partners noted nine new polio cases caused by the vaccine in Nigeria, …

Strain of wild poliovirus eradicated: WHO
5 years, 2 months ago

Strain of wild poliovirus eradicated: WHO

The Hindu  

Wild poliovirus type 3 has been eradicated, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday, hailing the development as an “historic achievement for humanity” that leaves only one strain of the virus in transmission. An independent panel, chaired by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, concluded that the required criteria have been met to “verify that this strain is truly gone”, the …

WHO welcomes ‘historic step’ in fight against polio
5 years, 2 months ago

WHO welcomes ‘historic step’ in fight against polio

Al Jazeera  

The UN health agency says a second strain of polio virus eradicated, meaning only polio type 1 still circulating. The World Health Organization has welcomed a “historic step” towards a polio-free world as an expert panel certified that the second of three types of the crippling virus has been eradicated globally. Countries must strengthen routine immunisation to protect communities, ramp …

Nigeria’s war against wild poliovirus approaches a climax
5 years, 3 months ago

Nigeria’s war against wild poliovirus approaches a climax

The Hindu  

On August 21 this year, Nigeria crossed an important milestone in the eradication of polio when it successfully completed three successive years without a single case of wild poliovirus. A country is said to have eradicated polio when no fresh case of wild poliovirus is reported for three successive years. The last case of type 1 wild poliovirus in Nigeria …

Pakistan: 5 children tested positive for polio, total 58 affected this year
5 years, 4 months ago

Pakistan: 5 children tested positive for polio, total 58 affected this year

India Today  

At least five more children were tested positive for poliovirus in Pakistan on Sunday. With this, the number of polio cases in the country has climbed to 58 this year, reported Dawn. Prime Minister's Focal Person on Polio Eradication, Babar Bin Atta, has confirmed that five more children were infected with the virus of polio. There is an increase in …

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