FG Reports 70 Cases Of Polio Variant In 14 Northern States

The federal government has reported 70 cases of a polio variant, circulating variant poliovirus type 2 (cVPV2), in 14 northern states, raising concerns over the spread of the virus. The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) emphasised the need for stronger vaccination efforts to stop the transmission.

Dr. Muyi Aina, the Executive Director of NPHCDA, disclosed this at a meeting with religious leaders in Abuja. He said that the cases were recorded in 46 local government areas. He attributed the continued spread to low vaccination rates and vaccine refusals during immunisation campaigns.

He said:

“This indicates continuous virus transmission due to low routine immunisation and refusal of vaccines during polio campaigns. This must change. We must ensure that every woman has access to antenatal care, that trained and skilled midwives deliver every pregnancy, and that every child completes their routine immunisation according to the national schedule and gets vaccinated every time vaccination teams visit their homes. Together, we must work to create a system that ensures no mother or child is left behind.”

The NPHCDA called on religious leaders to encourage vaccination and improve maternal health in their communities.

Polio is a highly infectious disease that largely affects children under five years of age, causing permanent paralysis (approximately 1 in 200 infections) or death (2-10 per cent of those paralysed), according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The virus is transmitted from person to person, mainly through the fecal-oral route or, less frequently, by contaminated water or food. It multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.

cVPV2, or circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, is a strain of poliovirus mutated from the weakened form of the virus originally used in oral polio vaccines (OPV). In rare cases, the weakened virus in the vaccine can change genetically as it circulates in under-immunised populations and regain its ability to cause illness, leading to outbreaks similar to those caused by the wild poliovirus.

This can occur when vaccination coverage is low, allowing the virus to spread from person to person and allowing it to mutate. cVPV2 is one of the most common types of vaccine-derived polioviruses. To prevent its spread, strong vaccination efforts are important, as it mostly affects areas with low immunisation rates.

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