Polio not yet eradicated in Nigeria – medical experts

Two medical experts have asserted that the polio virus has not yet been eradicated in Nigeria, although like the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday, the wild epidemic was no longer endemic in the country having been interrupted for 12 months.

Making this assertion in Ibadan on Tuesday were Dr. Johnson Adeniji, Director of WHO National Polio Laboratory, University of Ibadan,

and Dr. Bamidele Iwalokun, Head, Molecular Biology and Bio-technology Division, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos‎.

The global health body had last Friday said that “all laboratory data confirmed that 12 months has passed without any new case of polio in Nigeria”, ‎but the two medical experts said that Nigeria has not been certified polio-free yet.

Adeniji specifically said that it would take another 24 months of interruption of wild polio virus transmission before the country could be certified polio-free and eradicated.

The WHO Director said: “If you can interrupt polio transmission for one year; you will be removed from the list of endemic countries. That is not to say we have eradicated polio. For you to eradicate polio you must maintain that free status for three solid years. So now, we still have 24 months to be under observation, meaning we still need to continue to work.

“People should take seriously the issue of polio eradication‎ such that we will be able to sing the song that Nigeria is polio free,” Adeniyi said.