Polio fears grow as UN plans rapid response

LONDON — After two years in which the disease appeared beaten in Africa, polio eradication hopes hang in the balance with two cases of paralysis in Nigeria suggesting the virus has fought back, U.N .experts said Friday.

Many more cases of polio paralysis could come to light as investigators go into areas of northeastern Nigeria where the country’s first cases in the two years were confirmed Thursday.

“There could very well be more cases,” Michel Zaffran, head of polio at the World Health Organization, told reporters in a series of briefings.

He said health authorities would be carrying out detailed surveillance in the state of Borno and surrounding areas to see whether and how many other children might have been affected.

“If this virus has been circulating for several years, there’s a risk many more children have been paralyzed. We need carry out intensive and active surveillance to identify them.”

The WHO said it is planning a large, rapid response to the disease’s re-emergence in Nigeria, starting next week with emergency vaccination campaigns in four local government areas near the two confirmed cases.

The Islamic extremist group Boko Haram is active in Borno, and instability in the northeastern state has hampered efforts to get vaccines to children at risk. But Zaffran said health authorities would work with local religious and community leaders to try to ensure better access