In Nigeria, it was believed that the poliomyelitis epidemic would soon be over. The Nigerian government was counting on 2017 to formalize the eradication of this disease. This project became uncertain after two cases of polio were reported in the northeast of the country, in Borno State. These are two children who have been paralyzed by the virus.
These two patients are the first since the last case of polio which had been observed in Africa in August 2014 in Somalia.
Poliomyelitis is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can lead to total paralysis within hours, recalls the World Health Organization (WHO). In one out of 200 cases, irreversible paralysis occurs, usually of the legs. Between 5 and 10% of paralyzed patients die when their respiratory muscles stop working.
Difficult vaccination in territories controlled by Boko-Haram
Faced with this threat of seeing resurgence of a polio epidemicthe Nigerian government has just announced a campaign to vaccinationmassive in the northeast of the country, in Borno State. A million children should be vaccinated in this risk zone, to which will be added four million children in neighboring countries.
The challenge is to “boost the immunity” of children, explains the government, quoted by the bbc“to ensure that no child will be affected by this terrible disease”.
If the health authorities work with WHO experts to understand the origin of this resurgence of polio, their vaccination campaign could face a major obstacle: in Borno State, militants of the Islamic organization Boko-Haram. The violence that reigns in this territory complicates the access of caregivers to the population.
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