The Bauchi state government said it has identified 38 cases of Circulating Vaccine-Derived Polio Viruses in the state, there was no Polio outbreak as reported by some media houses.
The Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed who clarified this to Journalists in Bauchi on Monday, said the state has remained Free from Wild Polio Viruses (WPV) since 2013.
He said, “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. The circulating Vaccine-Derived Polio Viruses which are presently referred to as the circulating Mutant Polio Viruses (cMPV) normally results from mutation (change of form/characteristics) of the attenuated Polio viruses used in the manufacturing of the Polio vaccines. There are no Wild Polio Viruses (WPV) that services disease surveillance.”
“Bauchi state, like other states of the federation remains Free from Will Polio Viruses; the last case of Wild Polio Virus detected in the state was in 2013.”
He added that all measures to prevent the recurrence of the virus as recommended by WHO are religiously followed in the state.
Dr. Rilwanu said, “The Bauchi state government has received with dismay the misinformation on the reemergence of Polio cases in the state as carried by some media outfits.
“The information was a misrepresentation of the speech by the The Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed on Saturday January, 2022 during flag-off ceremony to mark the commencement of the first round of the state-wide outbreak response vaccination (OBR-1),” he said.
He continued: “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. The surveillance activities require collection of samples from children with cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) and from the environment at some designated sites.”
