Africa was polio-free for two years, but. . .
Two new cases reported in Nigeria last week activate large immunization effort
The World Health Organization, WHO, reported August 12 that two new cases of wild poliomyelitis was reported in northwest Borno State in Nigeria last week after nearly two years of no new reported cases.
The news disappointed public health officials in Africa, long considered to be one of the most difficult areas to be termed polio free. Part of the problem there is the presence of Boko Haram which The New York Times characterized Saturday as a vicious Islamic fundamentalist militia. That group has made much of the country unsafe for public health workers unless accompanied by federal military units.
Health workers characterize the strand in the two new cases as identical to one found in Chad last year. Many residents of Borno State fled there to escape Boko Haram.
Rotarian and Doctor Tunji Funsho coordinates Rotary’s immunization efforts in Nigeria.