No polio case in Cross River, says FG

The Federal Government has dispelled rumours of a polio case in Cross River State.

It said that the two-year-old child, who was suspected to have contracted the wild polio virus, only had a deformity which is not related to the disease.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), which is in charge of such ailment, said it dispatched assessment teams to Odukpani where a news channel reported the suspected case.

Acting Executive Director of NPHCDA, Emmanuel Odu, told newsmen in Abuja yesterday that the features found on the child were not consistent with those of poliomyelitis.

His words: “The two-year-old male child had a history of deformity, a twisted right foot, which was observed at birth for which he was attended to by a local bone-setter at the age of three weeks.”

“The boy also had taken at least six doses of polio vaccine since birth and had no recent fevers.

He stressed that the agency in collaboration with its partners would continue to search every part of the country for possible polio cases.

“We will continue to search the nooks and crannies of the country for new cases,” Odu said.

Also, in an interview with The Guardian, Director-General, Cross River Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Betta Edu, confirmed that there was no polio outbreak in the state.