The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, says an emergency team has been constituted to check the recent outbreak of polio in two local government areas of Borno State.
Professor Adewole said children in the affected LGAs would be given three rounds of immunisation to contain the situation.
He added that international organisations have also expressed their willingness to help check the spread of polio to other parts of the states.
Two polio cases were earlier reported in Jere and Gwoza local government areas of Borno State, northeast Nigeria.
Professor Adewole had confirmed an outbreak of wild polio virus (WPV) in Borno State, which affected two children from Gwoza and Jere LGAs.
The discovery and confirmation of the outbreak was as a result of strengthened surveillance due to improved accessibility which had been made possible by the recent military action in liberating more communities in Nigeria’s northeast.
The Minister said that the detection of children paralyzed by polio showed that surveillance has increased with more access.
However, he noted that it was a reminder that Nigeria needs to remain vigilant and immunise all eligible children with polio vaccine until polio is completely eradicated worldwide.
