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By Akanji Alowolodu, Bauchi
Bauchi State Government has stated that it received with dismay, the misinformation on the re-emergence of polio cases in the state as carried by some media outfits describing the development as not true.
According to the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BASPHCDA), the information was a misrepresentation of the speech by the Executive Chairman of the Agency Dr Rilwanu Mohammed on Saturday, January 8, 2022 during the flag-off ceremony to mark the commencement of the first round of the state-wide Outbreak Response vaccination (OBR1).
Briefing journalists Monday evening in his office, Rilwanu Mohammed said that, “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”.
He said that The surveillance activities require collection of samples from children with cases of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) and from the environment at some designated sites.
According to him, “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”.
He then explained that, “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”.
Rilwanu Mohammed further explained that, “These are not Wild Polio Viruses (WPV) that causes paralysis, but are used as indicators to measure the quality of immunization services and disease surveillance”.
He stressed that, “Bauchi State like other States of the Federation, remains Free from Wild Polio Viruses; the last case of Wild Polio Virus detected in the State was in 2013. All measures to prevent the recurrence of the virus as recommended by WHO are religiously followed in the state.
“The state PHC agency wish to urge all media houses to always verify facts about information before publication”, Rilwanu Mohammed advised.
