The World Health
Organization, WHO has expressed concern over new cases of polio in nigeria. According to Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the Organization's Regional Director
for Africa while reacting to this, said: "We are deeply saddened by the
news that two Nigerian children have been paralyzed by polio. The
Government has made significant strides to stop this paralyzing disease
in recent years.
"The overriding
priority now is to rapidly immunize all children around the affected
area and ensure that no other children succumb to this terrible
disease."
Director of polio eradication at WHO
Headquarters, Dr. Michel Zaffran, was also quoted as saying: "We are confident
that with a swift response and strong collaboration with the Nigerian
Government, we can soon rid the country of polio once and for all. This
is an important reminder that the world cannot afford to be complacent
as we are on the brink of polio eradication - we will only be done when
the entire world has been certified polio-free."
According to WHO, the pattern of the virus suggests a close link to to a wild poliovirus strain. The strain was last detected in Borno in
2011.
In 2012, it was said that Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide, however a huge progress was made after then through the combined effort of the government, religious leaders and the health workers as the country recently marked two years without the case of polio.
Increased effort through the establishment of more Emergency Operations Centers at the national and state level and the community involvement, also creating polio awareness will help combat the outbreak
Source: http://allafrica.com
