UNICEF: 120 cases of vaccine-derived polio reported in Nigeria

The representative of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund in Nigeria, Peter Hawkins, on Monday disclosed that 120 cases of vaccine-derived polio have been reported in Nigeria.

Hawkins disclosed this in his remarks at the third quarter Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Care’s review meeting on Monday in Abuja.

He said “The Vaccine-derived cases are rare, and they differ from wild cases. There are two kinds of polio cases; Wild cases of polio are caused by poliovirus that is circulating naturally in the environment.

“Vaccine-derived polioviruses are extremely rare and exist under specific circumstances. Oral polio vaccine contains live virus that is weakened so that it will prompt the body’s immune response without causing paralysis and so far, we have reported 120 cases in Nigeria.”

He noted that that vaccine was ingested, and the weakened virus replicates in the child’s gut and was then excreted.

“In areas with poor sanitation, this excreted vaccine virus can spread to other children. This can actually be good because it then immunizes them. When the strain no longer finds susceptible children, it dies out,” he added.

He warned against the dangers of undermining routine immunisation, saying, “The problem occurs in areas of low vaccination. There, such vaccine-derived strains of the virus can continue to circulate as long as they continue to find unvaccinated or otherwise susceptible children.

“While they continue to circulate, they mutate. Eventually, if they are allowed to circulate long enough, at least 12 months, they can mutate into strains that are strong enough to cause paralysis,” he explained.

He assured stakeholders that the oral polio vaccine had reduced the number of polio cases by 99.9 percent, noting that the risk posed by wild poliovirus was greater than the risk of an outbreak caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus. Punch