Northern States Intensify Fight Against Polio Spread

Following the recent disclosure by the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) that 83 cases of polio (cVPV2) were recorded across 14 states in the country, some northern states have stepped up the fight against the childhood disease.

The agency said 64 of the 83 cases were Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) while 19 were found in Environmental Sites (ES).

Although Nigeria has eradicated the wild polio virus (WPV) and was declared WPV free in 2020, it is now battling with circulating variant polio virus type 2 (cVPV2), another form of polio virus that has mutated over time and spread.

The executive director of the NPHCDA, Dr Muyi Aina, said the figure represents about 35 per cent reduction in the number of cases recorded within the same period in 2023.

Findings by LEADERSHIP Sunday showed that Kano State has recorded 20 polio variants cases.

The state commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, said the polio resurgence was as a result of the influx of people into the state.

He said most of the cases were brought into the state and not from the residents of Kano.

“So, we have to own them and we have responded adequately. From when it got to 20, we spent about 16 weeks without any case in Kano and we shall continue to respond until the circulating poilo variant becomes a history in Kano and Nigeria,” he said.

In Gombe State, the commissioner for Health, Dr Habu Dahiru, revealed that three cases of the disease were recorded from September to date in Dukku local government area.

Responding to LEADERSHIP Sunday’s enquiries, Dahiru said for many years, Wild Polio Virus (WPV) has left the state but that there was an outbreak of three cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus all in Dukku.

According to him, since the outbreak, the state took proactive measures to contain its spread to other parts and embarked on massive vaccination in the 11 local governments of the state.

The commissioner who said they finished first and second rounds of the vaccination now with the third round scheduled to be carried out in December, emphasised that immunisation was the best way to prevent the disease.

He ascribed the resurfacing of the disease to lack of routine immunisation.

The Kwara State government said over one million children have been captured in the polio vaccination campaign that took place between 26th and 29th October, 2024 across the 16 local government areas of the state.

The executive secretary of the Kwara State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Nusirat Elelu disclosed this to LEADERSHIP Sunday in Ilorin, the state capital.

She said the campaign was carried out to prevent childhood paralysis due to polio virus.

“All children zero to five years old were expected to be vaccinated irrespective of their previous vaccination status,” Elelu said.

She added that the vaccine is safe, efficacious and does not have overdose.

The Zamfara State government said there was no case of polio in the state as necessary action had been taken to curb the menace.

In a chat with LEADERSHIP Sunday, the director of public health in the Ministry of Health, Dr Yusuf Abubakar, said Zamfara recorded no case in the last 13 to 15 months.

The director said several measures were taken by the ministry to ensure the disease was tackled in the 14 local government areas of the state.

According to him, what they did to curb the spread of the disease was that Governor Dauda Lawal took over the mantle of leadership, declared a state of emergency on the health sector.

Dr Abubakar added that the Ministry of Health followed with activities including meeting with donor agencies for their support because the ministry was able to develop a detailed workplan.

The Plateau State government said it had immunised 700,000 children under the age of five against polio virus.

The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, Abel Gwatau, made the disclosure at the just-concluded routine immunisation against poliomyelitis in the state.

Gwatau, a pharmacist, said the “Immunisation Plus Days” campaign was launched against poliomyelitis, adding that due to the sustained immunisation, the state had not recorded any case of polio in the last 17 months.

Since 2022, Kebbi State has not recorded any polio outbreak, according to the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency.

The agency’s executive secretary, Abubakar Muhammed, who confirmed the development to LEADERSHIP Sunday said from 2022 to 2023, the state had not recorded any outbreak of polio.

He said the development was as a result of the monthly immunization of infants and young children against the disease.

Muhammed added that there was also a constant awareness campaign to households, particularly mothers, on the importance of vaccination against the polio virus.