Nigeria risks retrieval of polio-free certificate as polio variant resurfaces- Kano Govt

By Kolawole Omoniyi

Kano State Government has confirmed a new case of Circulating Derived Vaccine Polio type 2 (cVDPV2) in the State, as announced by the  State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Aminu Ibrahim Tsanyawa on Thursday.

An indication that the outbreak of the Wild Polio Virus is looming in the Country if urgent action is not taken.

Solacebase recalls that Nigeria was certified polio-free in August 2020. However, the status is currently hanging in the balance following the discovery of the case of cVDPV2 in Kano, six of such cases in Yobe, and five in Jigawa State.

While fielding questions from journalists during the flag off of the seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaign in Kano, the Commissioner who spoke through the State Director of Public Health, Dr. Bashir Lawal said “with regard to the circulating derived vaccine poliovirus we are having in the country, it has been isolated, we discovered one case in Kano, six in Yobe and five in Jigawa State.’’

The Commissioner said the cVDPV2 cases were discovered through experimentation of environmental sampling, not within human bodies as being experimented in the case of wild poliovirus.

He however warned that if adequate measures are not in place, the development may give birth to another case of wild poliovirus and eventual retrieval of the country’s polio-free certificate.

Read Also:Nigeria is Polio free- WHO declares

“This development is to show a kind of laxity from us, this is environmental sampling, not within humans and it is trying to show that if care is not taken, then the wild poliovirus can come back around and what that means is that we are at risk of getting our certificate (polio-free certificate) retrieved,” He said.

He clarified further that “when you have circulating virus, does not mean that you have wild poliovirus but it is a kind of window with which you see and then also reflect on your performances, one of which is after polio certification, is strengthening polio immunization”.

He outlined the measures activated by stakeholders to avert the looming wild poliovirus to include series of routine immunization campaigns. “This is the reason why national calendar now put outbreak response (OBR) in phases, phase 0, 1 & 2”.

Read Also:JUST IN: WHO declares Nigeria, Africa polio free

“We did phase 0 in January, we have just concluded phase 1 in June and thirdly in the next couple of weeks, we are going to have phase 2 of the OBR with regard to or in an attempt to see that we wipe out the issue of circulating virus, not wild poliovirus” He explained.

On the flag off of another seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaign, Dr. Tsanyawa said the move was to avert more than 75% of both uncomplicated and severe malaria among under five years old children across the State. He added that 60% of clinical malaria cases occurring within 4 months of the raining season, hence the need for exercise.

Read Also:How Nigeria fought, won Wild Polio Virus war – Buhari

He urged parents to avail their children aged 3-59 months for the four days free SMC mass drug administration against malaria, adding that the exercise which is targeting 3,108,050 children across every ward in Kano, began on Thursday and will last for the next four days.