Nigeria Declared Polio Free by WHO
Posted
on Sep 28, 2015
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared on September 25th that Nigeria is now polio-free. The West African country has been officially removed from the list of countries where polio is endemic. It has been 12 months since any cases of polio caused by the wild virus have been detected there, according to WHO.
The historic announcement leaves only two countries -- Afghanistan and Pakistan -- where the polio virus remains.
WHO also verified that "poliovirus type 2, one of three strains of the wild virus, has been eradicated worldwide." This development is important for Rotary and its partners as they prepare to switch from a form of the vaccine that targets all polio types to one that does not protect against type 2. The last case of type 2 polio was detected in 1999. The September 21st announcement means only two strains of the virus remain. One of these, type 3, hasn't been detected in three years.