Kano records 106 cases of Type 2 Polio virus

Targets 3.6 Million Children For Vaccination

Kano State Ministry of Health has said that 106 cases of Circulating Vaccine Drive Polio Virus Type 2 (cVDPV2) were recorded across 25 local councils.

Earlier, the Federal Government had declared the outbreak and transmission of the virus in 12 states of Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Rivers, Yobe and Zamfara as well as Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Aminu Tsanyawa, told newsmen, yesterday, that as part of measures to respond to the outbreak of cVDPV2, the state government had concluded plans to vaccinate 3.6 million children with the novel Type 2 Oral Polio Vaccine (nOPV2).

The ministry is unveiling the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW) campaign to reduce mortality, with over N2.5 billion on both exercises, he noted, explaining that the integrated Outbreak Response (OBR1) and MNCHW campaigns would run concurrently from January 9 to 13, 2022.

Tsanyawa explained that the improved and genetically stable vaccine became necessary to attain the global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

The commissioner regretted that three years after Nigeria was certified polio-free, an outbreak of cVDPV2 was discovered in 13 states of the federation, including Kano with a record of 106 cases across 25 local councils.

He noted that the response with the vaccine to eradicate the virus was in line with the directives and guidelines from the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and the Ministry of Health.

“Kano has equally concluded all arrangements to ensure a quality OBR1 across the state’s 44 local councils. The OBR1 activities started from Friday, January 7, 2022 with the Direct Observed Polio Vaccination (DOPV) while the house-to-house campaign will be flagged off on Sunday, January 9,” he said.

The commissioner emphasised that the polio vaccination would run along with the distribution of Maternal and Newborn Child health intervention with the disbursement of Vitamin A supplement, deworming, nutritional assessment, and Free ANC drugs including hematinic sulphur dioxide pyrimethamine and LLIN targeted at over 600,000 mothers and children under five.

He urged parents, caregivers and pregnant women to utilise the opportunity afforded by the government to make themselves available for the interventions.