Two New #Polio Cases In #Nigeria Are The First Detected In Africa In More Than Two Years : Goats and Soda : NPR
▻http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/12/489762952/polio-rears-its-head-again-in-africa
Health officials in Nigeria are gearing up for a massive emergency polio immunization drive after two children were paralyzed by the disease.
The two new polio cases in Nigeria are the first detected on the African continent in more than 2 years.
Nigerian health officials plan to vaccinate nearly 5 million kids across the northeast of the country in an effort to contain this latest outbreak.
The re-emergence of polio in Nigeria is a major setback for global efforts to eradicate the disease.
Prior to this week the polio virus appeared to be on the verge of defeat: Afghanistan and Pakistan were the only countries reporting ongoing transmission of the virus. Including these two children who’ve been paralyzed in Nigeria there’ve been only 21 polio cases reported anywhere in the world this year.
The two Nigerian cases were found in the volatile northeastern state of Borno along the border with Chad. The area is a stronghold of Boko Haram, which has made routine immunization drives difficult. The terror group has publicly denounced the #vaccination campaigns as a Western plot, killed immunizers and made it difficult for government health officials to even enter some parts of the country.
