12 September 2008
Kaduna — World Health Organisation (WHO) said yesterday that Nigeria ranks first among countries with endemic polio cases in the world.
The country is also reported to have the highest figure of polio cases in Africa, put at about 91 per cent.
Speaking in Kaduna yesterday, WHO's Immunization Officer, Mrs Charity Warigon, said Nigeria had 86 per cent of the total number of polio cases recorded worldwide
"The number has increased to 651 as at today. This shows an increase of 450 cases within one year," she told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The country recorded 651 cases as against 201 in 2007. Warigon said the Wild Polio type one (WP1) had been discovered in 24 states, pointing out that Kano had the highest figure of 232, while Enugu, Adamawa and Kogi had one case each.
She attributed the spread of the disease to rejection of polio vaccines by some communities and inability of immunisation personnel to reach many children with low immunity.
The WHO official identified ignorance as one of the factors hampering the eradication of the disease. "Some erroneous beliefs by some people on polio vaccination is the cause of the spread," Warigon said, adding that routine and sustained immunisation would control the spread of polio.
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