Polio resurfaces in Nigeria again after a two year absence with a breakout in Borno State

HEALTH minister Professor Isaac Adewole has confirmed an outbreak of the wild polio virus in Borno State in what is a major setback for the government as Nigeria has been polio-free for two years.

 

Earlier this year, Nigeria was officially been declared a polio-free country by the World Health Organisation (WHO) after there were no cases of the crippling disease recorded nationwide in 15 months. Just 20 years ago, Nigeria was recording 1,000 polio cases a year, making it the polio capital of the world.

 

Attempts to combat polio were frustrated by the actions of Muslim extremists in northern Nigeria who prevented people from receiving vaccinations, claiming it was un-Islamic to do so and that it was a plot to sterilise Muslims. However, over recent years, the battle against such ideas has been won and the increased use of vaccination has led to polio all but being eradicated in Nigeria.

 

This week, however, the government has suffered a major setback as the disease appears to have resurfaced. Professor Oyewole said the outbreak had affected two children from Gwoza and Jere Local Government Areas of Borno State.

 

Professor Oyewole added: “Our overriding priority right now is to rapidly boost immunity in the affected areas to ensure that no more children are affected by this terrible disease. The Federal Ministry of Health through the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency with the support of partners, including WHO and Unicef, are conducting detailed risk analysis to clearly ascertain the extent of circulation of the virus and to assess overall levels of population immunity in order to guide the response.

 

“An an immediate response, about one million children are to be immunized in four local government areas in Borno State. Children in adjoining states of Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe will also be immunized, bringing the number to about 5m in the four states."

 

He has directed the deployment of a national emergency response team comprising government and partners to Borno State for immediate and robust polio vaccination campaign, targeting eligible children to prevent the spread of the virus locally and internationally. Professor Adewole reiterated the federal government’s commitment to achieving a polio-free Nigeria and assured the general public that this outbreak will be controlled as soon as possible, adding that government will provide the needed resources to contain it.