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69 polio cases in Nigeria - WHO
12/10/2007 15:09 - (SA)
Abuja - About 69 children in northern Nigeria contracted polio after vaccination against the disease, says a World Health Organisation official.
WHO representative Peter Eriki said they were vulnerable to the virus used to produce the vaccine because "they hadn't been vaccinated enough."
"These are extremely rare cases, however," Eriki added.
He ruled out that the virus could have come from contamination of the vaccine. In rare cases, the virus in the vaccine could mutate into a form that could paralyse, according to WHO.
"This is a sign that we must vaccinate more people," Eriki said, indicating that about 10% of the Nigerian population had dodged the vaccination campaign.
He added: "Those who are vaccinated are completely protected. The best thing to do is to ensure that all children are vaccinated."
The vaccination campaigns launched by the United Nations and the Nigerian government came up against resistance from Muslim chiefs in the northern part of the country in 2003.
Arguing that the polio vaccination was part of a plot hatched by the United States to sterilise Muslims, they blocked the campaign for 11 months, causing a resurgence of the disease, which spread to countries that had earlier been declared polio-free.
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