A total of 48 cases of Wild Polio Virus (WPV) have been recorded in 10 States since the beginning of the year 2012 with Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and Niger as the affected States.
Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu Muazu, who made this known at the flag-off ceremony of the 4th Round of the Immunisation Plus Days (IPDS) at Chanchaga town, Bosso LGA, Niger State, stated that the ugly experience of polio cases in Nigeria has made the country the leading country with polio infection in the world.
? In an address delivered by the deputy governor, Hon. Ahmed Musa Ibeto, the governor warned that with the outbreak of polio in neighbouring northern states, the time has come for everybody to work together in fighting the scourge.
“48 cases of WPV have been reported in 10 States of the country including Niger. Although Niger State has not recorded any case of polio in 3 years until the recent case discovered in a migrant nomad child from one of the neighbouring states, this discovery is a signal for the need to intensify surveillance to making sure we do not have a wide spread of the virus in the state. In this bid, the Niger State government has put in place, measures to stop polio transmission and strive to make sure the state is declared polio free once more.
? “Therefore, this is not the time to celebrate but to collectively work together in fighting the scourge of polio in the state. Let me also use this medium to call on all parents and caregivers to make sure that they complement the effort of government at eradicating polio in the state by bringing out their children under the age of five for immunisation against polio,” he said.
?