By Zayamu Hassan
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) said that the Nigeria’s polio-free status by the African Regional Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication (ARCC) is not under threat.
The Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, made the clarification in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja.
He recalled that Nigeria and the African region were certified Wild Polio Virus (WPV)-free in 2020, following a rigorous verification and certification process by the ARCC, which spanned 3 years of no detection of WPV.
According to him, till date, there has been no case of WPV isolated anywhere in the Country.
Nigeria and the African region were certified WPV-free on the August 25, 2020 and therefore, the polio-free status of the country is not in any way under threat.
He said: “The attention of NPHCDA has been drawn to reports in some sections of the media claiming that there is an outbreak of a new polio variant in some states. This is a gross misrepresentation of the facts. For the avoidance of doubt, no case of WPV has been reported anywhere in the country since the last case in 2016.
“What is being misconstrued for an outbreak of WPV is the detection, through our robust disease surveillance system of 22 cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis, spread across Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara states.
“These non-wild polio viruses originated as a result of normal changes in the reproduction of viruses. These viruses are not as virulent as WPV and are also being reported in other countries. Working with our donors and development partners, Nigeria has already acquired new tools and resources to ensure these viruses are contained.”
He, however, assured that the NPHCDA and partners will continue to conduct surveillance and vaccination campaigns in order to prevent and contain any possible importation of the Wild Polio Virus.
