Polio in Nigeria

1
Polio in Nigeria

• Polio cases this year have almost doubled in
  Nigeria
• Last year at this time there were 54 reported
  cases so far this year 106 new cases have been
  found.
• Outbreaks are result of naturally occurring
  strains and are vaccine linked
• In Nigeria oral polio vaccines are given which
  are weakened forms of live virus. It is rare but
  the virus has the potential to mutate and
  actually cause an outbreak.
• In the West oral form of vaccine is not given.
  Instead an injectable form is used, does not
  cause outbreaks but is more expensive and must be
  given by doctor or nurse.
• For every child who is paralyzed there are 1,000
  infected children spreading the disease
• A big part of the problem is related to the 2003
  boycott of the vaccine
• Nigerian Islamic clerics claimed the immunization
  campaign was part of a U.S. attempt to make
  Muslims infertile and/or infect them with AIDS.
• Up to 30 of children are still unvaccinated
• Situation represents a huge setback in the
  eradication of polio

2

• Article was concise and very straight forward.
• Was more of an update to the situation more than
  an in-depth introduction and explanation.
• Provided very minimal background information
• Would have liked to have seen inclusion of more
  statistics as well as information on other
  endemic countries.
• Article did not fully explain vaccine-derived
  outbreaks and how rare they are (1 in
  approximately 1 million)

Cheng, M. (2008). Polio Cases Double in Nigeria.
TIME.com