No Record Of Wild Polio Virus – Bauchi Govt Assures
- Detects circulating Vaccine-Derived Polio Viruses
BY ADEYEMI AKANJI, BAUCHI – Bauchi State Government has described as disturbing and untrue the information about the re-emergence of Polio cases in the state as carried by some media outfits in the country.
Expressing dismay at the misinformation currently in the public domain, the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BASPHCDA) said the reports are gross misrepresentations of the speech delivered recently by its Executive Chairman, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed.
Dr Rilwanu spoke at the flag-off ceremony to mark the commencement of the first round of the state-wide Outbreak Response Vaccination (OBR1) on Saturday, January 8, 2022.
Reacting to the development, Dr Rilwanu told journalists in his office that; “as part of the Post-Polio Free Certification Activities the World Health Organization has directed every Country to intensify surveillance activities, strengthen routine immunization for children, and continuous public health education”.
He said the surveillance activities require the collection of samples from children with cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) and from the environment at some designated sites, adding; “Through the robust surveillance system, Bauchi State was able to detect 38 cases of Circulating Vaccine-Derived Polio Viruses out of the 315 samples collected from January to December 2021.
According to him; “The circulating vaccine-derived Polio Viruses, which are presently referred to as the circulating Mutant Polio Viruses (cMPV), normally results from a mutation (change of form/characteristics) of the attenuated polio-viruses used in the manufacturing of the Polio Vaccines.
“These are not Wild Polio Viruses (WPV) that causes paralysis, but are used as indicators to measure the quality of immunization services and disease surveillance”.
Explaining the development further, Dr Rilwanu said; “Bauchi State, like other States of the Federation, remains free from Wild Polio Viruses; the last case of Wild Polio Virus detected in the State was in 2013.
“All measures, to prevent the recurrence of the virus as recommended by WHO, are religiously followed in the state. The State PHC Agency urges all media houses to always verify facts about information before publication.”
