SAN FRANCISCO, September 05, (THEWILL) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed a third case of polio in Nigeria, after two cases were earlier discovered in the country following a two-year break.
According to a report by Rotary club, a crippled toddler found in an area newly liberated from Boko Haram militants was confirmed as the latest case.
“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 report quoted WHO with a warning that more cases are expected to be discovered in such areas.
It added that the virus has been circulating undetected for five years in areas where Boko Haram began its uprising in 2009.
The United Nations Children’s Fund also warned that about one million children, in areas too dangerous to access, could also be exposed to polio.
Rotary is part of a new emergency immunization drive that vaccinated more than 1.5 million children last week in Borno with a plan to reach 25 million children, spread across the country, before the end of the year.
Nigeria had gone two years without recording any case of polio and was to be certified polio free next year before the recent development.
Story by David Oputah
