Nigeria records 95% drop in polio variant cases in 2 years
Nigeria recorded a 95 percent decline in the incidence of Circulating Variant Polio Virus type 2 cases (cVPV2) between 2021 and 2023, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency has said. The Executive Director of the agency, Faisal Shuaib, stated this yesterday in Abuja during the 40th Expert Review Committee (ERC) meeting on polio and […]
nOPV2 vaccination campaigns in Nigeria. Credit: WHO Nigeria
Nigeria recorded a 95 percent decline in the incidence of Circulating Variant Polio Virus type 2 cases (cVPV2) between 2021 and 2023, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency has said.
The Executive Director of the agency, Faisal Shuaib, stated this yesterday in Abuja during the 40th Expert Review Committee (ERC) meeting on polio and routine immunization.
He said Nigeria had not recorded any case of Wild Polio Virus (WPV) since 2016, adding that progress had been recorded in the reduction of the number of circulating variant polio virus cases.
He said, “This variant polio viruses are a different type of polio viruses that have mutated from the type of virus that we know. As you are aware viruses have the ability to change their nature. This is what we are dealing with right now. But we have also seen progress since 2021 when we reported over 1,028 reports of circulating variant polio viruses in their environment.”
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Shuaib said the country had also been able to reduce the spread of cVPV2 cases from 30 states in 2021 to just four states this year. He said only 16 local government areas were affected in the four states.
He said, “Of the 57 reports that we have received of CVPV2 this year, 51 are from Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina and Sokoto states.”
Country Director, World Health Organisation, Walter Kazadi Mulombo, said reaching and sustaining zero cases of cVPV2 in Nigeria in 2023 was achievable if we the country could continue to strengthen the partnership to surmount the current risks.
He also stressed the need to address gaps in immunization and primary health care system.