Monday marks World Polio Day, a day to spotlight the importance of global eradication of polio.

Health officials in India announced Monday there has been no detection of polio in the country for nine months, India's longest polio-free period since eradication efforts began.

Indian health officials say the last new case was reported in January in West Bengal state, with no cases reported in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for the first time.

The Indian government has decided to treat any new polio case as a public health emergency.

Polio remains endemic in Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Polio has been eliminated from most of the world. In 2009, fewer than 2,000 cases were reported for the entire year.