Nigeria's northern state records 141 new cases of polio

Katsina State in north Nigeria has recorded 141 fresh cases of poliomyelitis since the beginning of this year, Executive Chairman of the state's Primary Health Care Development Agency Ahmed Qabasiyu announced on Tuesday.

Qabasiyu told reporters in the state capital Katsina that the polio cases were recorded between January and September, with May having the highest cases of 38.

The cases reduced to 25 in June and six in July following the conduction of the first and second rounds of the newly-introduced Immunization Plus Day (IPD) program, he said.

On the just concluded third round of the IPD in the state, Qabasiyu said a total of 1.3 million children were immunized against polio while 297,525 children were immunized against diphtheria.

He said 5,815 children were provided with insecticide treated nets, while 297,862 and 218,526 children respectively got paracetamol and soap/oral rehydration therapy as "plus" for the exercise in the state.

Qabasiyu expressed optimism that polio would be eradicated by the end of the year and appealed to parents for more cooperation and support to the IPD.

Source: Xinhua