Third Case Of Polio Cormfirmed In Nigeria By W.H.O

Third case of polio confirmed by W.H.O in Monguno Local Government Area of Borno State.according to statement issued on Monday by world health organization (W.H.O) the third case of the polio was found on a two year old boy,who has also suffered paralysis in one of the internally displace persons camp the state.

WHO experts and officials from Rotary International health agency, who are presently carrying out surveillance and immunizing kids in the north-eastern states, warned that the viral infection might have spread to many states in the region.

According to the spokesperson for Rotary International, Stephanie Mucznik,  the latest case was closely linked to the two cases recorded in Borno State in August.

Mucznik stated, “The third child has been paralyzed by wild polio virus type 1 in Borno State. It’s all linked to the same outbreak. Detection of new cases is not unexpected and can be anticipated, particularly as disease surveillance is being strengthened, including by conducting retrospective case searches.

“The three cases appear to come from the same strain of the disease circulating in the North-East for years. Genetic sequencing of the isolated viruses suggests they are most closely linked to WPV1 last detected in Borno in 2011, indicating the strain has been circulating without detection since that time.”

Nigeria recorded two new cases of the wild polio virus in August, a year before the country was to be certified polio-free.

 The country was also de-listed from polio-endemic countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan after it had failed to record new cases since 2013.

Experts, who spoke with our correspondent on Monday, said  the new cases being detected in the North-East should come as no surprise to health officials in the country

The President, Lagos State Chapter, Association for Public Health Physicians, Dr. Doyin Odubanjo, noted that the Federal Government, who had being facing  challenges immunizing many  children since insurgents took over some towns in the North-East, should have tread carefully when the country was de-listed from polio-endemic countries.

Odubanjo said, “I think it was inevitable. We seem to be ignoring the obvious though. It was okay to celebrate having no cases for two years but we should have embarked on a cautious celebration, knowing that we couldn’t have been doing proper immunization or surveillance in the North-East while war persisted there.

“So, as Boko Haram gets contained, we should expect cases. Even now the region is still unsafe and immunization and surveillance cannot be as ideal.

“We should simply pray for the end of the war so we can do the needful. In the interim, immunization should be carried out in the North-East as soon as possible, especially in the  IDP camps and in surrounding states.”