By JOHN NWOKOCHA, Abuja

Country representative of the United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) in Nigeria, Dr Peter Hawkins, on Monday disclosed the outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio in Nigeria.

Making this disclosure in his remarks at the third Quarter Northern Traditional Leaders Committee on Primary Health Cares (PHC), review meeting on Monday in Abuja, Hawkins declared “the Vaccine-derived cases are rare, and they differ from wild cases”. He added: “There are two kinds of polio cases; Wild cases of polio are caused by poliovirus that is circulating naturally in the environment”.

According to him, Vaccine-derived polioviruses are extremely rare and exist under specific circumstances.

Explaining further, he said oral polio vaccine contains live virus that is weakened so that it will prompt the body’s immune response without causing paralysis.

He noted that that vaccine was ingested, and the weakened virus replicates in the child’s gut and was then excreted.

Hear him: “In areas with poor sanitation, this excreted vaccine virus can spread to other children. This can actually be good because it then immunises them. When the strain no longer finds susceptible children, it dies out.”

Hawkins warned against the dangers of undermining routine immunization, saying: “The problem occurs in areas of low vaccination. There, such vaccine-derived strains of the virus can continue to circulate as long as they continue to find unvaccinated or otherwise susceptible children.

“While they continue to circulate, they mutate. Eventually, if they are allowed to circulate long enough, at least 12 months, they can mutate into strains that are strong enough to cause paralysis,” he stressed.

However, he assured that the oral polio vaccine had reduced the number of polio cases by 99.9 percent, noting that the risk posed by wild poliovirus was far greater than the risk of an outbreak caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus:

Speaking at the occasion also, the Executive Director of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, noted that with the different disease outbreaks that the country were currently contending with, it was imperative that the approach becomes more integrated.

“This is because they are all interwoven. Amidst COVID-19, we have Cholera, CVDPV2 which is as a result of suboptimal routine immunization in some parts of the country.

“As we conduct outbreak response campaigns, we need to find a way to integrate our responses for efficient utilization of available resources and to enhance confidence in our people,” he added.

The NPHCDA DG noted that the Integration would also enhance the agency’s determination to continue to safeguard the wild polio virus free status.

Shuiab disclosed that His Imperial Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; (Ọjájá II), was providing leadership in the systematic engagement of the Traditional leaders in the South-West with the Southwest Traditional Leaders’ Committee on PHC delivery that was inaugurated by the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on September 2, 2021 at his Imperial Majesty’s palace, Ile-Ife.

“This shows that our traditional leaders have the interest of their community at heart and are collaborating with the Government in ensuring basic healthcare services are available to the people,” he said.

“Consequently, Your Highnesses, mobilization, sensitization, advocacy and role modelling efforts should target multiple interventions simultaneously.

“It is in the spirit of integration that we have adopted what we call the PSI (primary health care services integration) or ‘the whole of family approach’ for this second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination.

“It entails checking the blood pressure and assessing the diabetes risk status of clients 40 years and above and screening children 0 to 12 months for malnutrition and routine immunization status,” he explained.

On his own part, the World Health Organisation (WHO), representative, Dr Kofi Boateng, EPI Focal Point, Universal Health Coverage (UHC), said that the meeting was in the right direction, noting that the role traditional institutions played eradication of diseases such as polio was achieved due to lead position they played in the society.

Boateny maintained that in the delivery of quality PHC and the attainment of UHC, health security and routine immunization the traditional leaders were crucial.

“Traditional leaders are needed for monitoring and accountability in the implementation of health policy to ensure health security,” he stated.

The Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samala Muhammadu Mera, assured that the committee was working to ensure that all eligible Nigerians take the COVID-19 vaccines as they become available.

The Emir said the committee of traditional and religious leaders was taking steps to educate citizens in their community on the safety of the vaccines and the danger of not taking it.

He informed that nearly all village and District heads have taken the vaccine as a ways of setting example for others to follow.

Mere said: “What we intend to do as a committee is that we want to leave by example. I have taken my two shots and I believe every member of the committee has taken we have also advised and guided our councillors and members to also take it.

“Most District heads and village heads have taken it; this are leaders of our communities and the people have trust in them. Apart from this, we are also talking to the people about the safety of the vaccines, and the dangers of COVID-19.

“We tell them that the only preventive measure is the vaccine. We are leading by example, we also interacting with the people, bringing in other traditional and religious leaders on board that can influence people.”