FG Raises the Alarm over Poliovirus Outbreak in FCT, 13 States

About a year after the World Health Organisation (WHO) certified Nigeria polio-free, the federal government yesterday announced an outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) in 13 states.

It listed the states as Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, FCT, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara.

WHO had on August 25, 2020, declared Nigeria as the last polio-endemic country in Africa and was officially certified free from polio after marking three consecutive years since the last case of wild polio had been identified.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr. Faisal Shuaib, said yesterday at a meeting of the Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care Delivery (NTLC) in Abuja, that the agency had taken steps to address the health challenge.

He said: "As of today, we have to circulate vaccinederived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreaks in Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, FCT, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara and we have conducted four OBRs using the Novelle Oral Polio Vaccine, which is a preferred choice as it doesn’t seed the virus.”

Shuaib added that suboptimal performance has been recorded in all the states due to the high number of missed children during the outbreak response, adding that the poor quality will affect how NPHCDA is able to bring the outbreak under control.

He attributed the apparent resurgence of cVDPV2 to the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic after the country has been granted certification by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

"This year has been a challenging one due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected all areas of our lives, including the immunisation programme.