THE state government has confirmed the discovery of Vaccine Derived Poliovirus (VDPV) type 2 case in the state.
Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Prof. Abdullahi Isa, disclosed this yesterday during the official flag-off of First Round Outbreak Response Immunisation in Yola.
Isa described the VDPV as a strain of the weakened Poliovirus that was initially included in Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus.
He expressed concern that the re-emergence of the virus in the state was a great challenge and a signal for the possible outbreak of the transmitted virus.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Nigeria polio-free in August 2020.
The commissioner said: “One case of Circulating Vaccine Derived Poliovirus type 2 has been detected in the state.
“The situation is posing a great signal to poliovirus outbreak in the state.
“The resurface of the Poliovirus type 2 necessitated the immediate flag-off of the First Round Outbreak Response for Oral Polio Vaccine.”
He said the state government with the support from the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), among others, had trained about 800 health personnel to carry out the routine polio immunization.
