WHO confirms Nigeria’s third polio case

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed a third case of polio in Nigeria.

Rotary Club’s field coordinator, Aminu Muhammad, disclosed this to AP on Monday, saying a crippled toddler found in Monguno Local Government Area of Borno state, is the victim.

Last month, two cases of the virus were discovered in Borno State, with Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, describing the development as a setback for the nation.

Nigeria had gone two years without recording any case of polio and was to be certified polio free next year before the recent development.

WHO warned that more cases are expected to be discovered in these areas, stressing that “it is an indicator that Nigeria’s war on polio cannot be won until it overcomes the insurgency by extremists who are violently opposed to western medicine.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund also has warned that about one million children are in areas too dangerous to access.

Rotary is part of a new emergency immunization drive that vaccinated more than 1.5 million children last week in Borno, where WHO has said the virus has been circulating undetected for five years and where Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009.

The campaign is expected to spread across the country, with a plan to reach 25 million children before the end of the year.