Imam Imam
26 August 2008
Gusau — World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday raised alarm over the upsurge in the cases of poliomyelitis in Zamfara state.
Only last week cases of the virus jerked up from 69 to 72 in the state. In the latest report of the virus provided during a one-day workshop for journalists in Zamfara state held in Gusau, Kano state came first with 206 cases, Zamfara state second with 72 while Katsina state came third of the 23 states affected in the country by the virus with 57 cases.
Delivering a paper during the training, the National Immunisation Officer of the WHO in Zamfara state, Hajiya Safia Suleiman Ismaila said there is an urgent need for all stakeholders in the health sector to work towards addressing the situation. She said of the 200 stool samples taken to the University of Ibadan Teaching Hospital for the polio virus test, another three new cases were discovered last week, making the total cases of polio in Zamfara state to be 72 as against 69 earlier documented last week.
She said other figures obtained showed that from January to July this year alone, Nigeria accounts for 88 percent of the global wild polio virus type 1 cases and while in the same period, the country accounts for 92 percent of polio cases in Africa.
Reasons given for such increase include poor environmental sanitation, non compliance with outlined measures of tackling the virus by parents, inconsistency in the application of immunisation doses and low immunisation in areas with high prevalence rates.
Speaking to THISDAY on the findings, National Progra-mme on Immunisation NPI's Zamfara state Manager, Alhaji Yusuf Musa Mafara said with latest onset of the virus, Nigeria has 578 cases in 23 states in 2008, compared to 176 for the same period in 2007 in 20 states.
Mafara said drop in the number of vaccinated children was becoming problematic, adding that the NPI has a monthly target 11,600 children but a worst end up administering the vaccines to just 4000 children. He however said the battle to contain the scourge has not been lost, and urged stakeholders to double their efforts to ensure the virus is completely wiped out before December this year. He urged journalists to take more active role in enlightening the populace about the dangers of the virus, saying their efforts have proved successful in other parts of the country. He particularly urged journalists to provide timely and adequate information and date on immunisation activities. He equally urged them to avoid controversial reporting of immunisation activities so as not to derail the successes recorded so far. Meanwhile, Zamfara state government said it has taken all necessary steps to ensure that the recent increase in cases of wild polio virus in the state is reversed. In the same vein, the state social mobilisation committee has also been set up to complement the efforts of the task force. Speaking to THISDAY in an interview in Gusau yesterday, Chief Health Educator at the state Ministry of Health, Alhaji Aliyu Idris, said a strong task force, under the leadership of the state commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs, Alhaji Tukur Dangaladima, has already been established to liaise with all development partners with a view to tackling the menace.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
