New Delhi/Patna, Aug 24 - India has reported 236 cases of polio in the last eight months and the country is moving towards wiping out the disease as 99 percent of the job is almost over, an official said Monday.

According to statistics released by the health ministry, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other partner organisations like Rotary, Uttar Pradesh has topped the table with 181 cases so far this year.

'India has achieved a lot of success in the polio eradication drive. I can say that 99 percent of the job is done,' Deepak Kapur, chairman of Rotary India Polio Committee, told IANS.

'The country is on the verge of wiping out P1 cases (the most virulent strain) by the end of this year. We have just 34 P1 cases this year as against 75 last year. Perhaps we are in the best position ever to wipe out P1,' Kapur added.

Of the 236 cases reported in India, 181 were detected in Uttar Pradesh, 49 in Bihar, four in Delhi and one each in Rajasthan and Uttarakhand, said Anil Kumar Singh, a health official in Patna. In 2008, India had reported 559 cases of polio, including 75 of P1.

Bihar health authorities are a little worried as 16 of the 49 cases detected are of the virulent P1 strain. The rest are the less virulent P3 strain.