On Jul. 24,  Nigeria marked two years since the last case of wild poliovirus. Today, it will have been two years since the last case of polio had onset of paralysis on the African continent.

Nigeria/Alvaro1984 18
Nigeria/Alvaro1984 18

However, if a local media report is correct, hopes of polio-free certification may have to be reset.

The Nigeria news source, Guardian, reports two cases of wild polio virus (WPV) were discovered in Gwarzo and Jere Local Government Areas of Borno State, yesterday.

After a request for information (RFI) from ProMed mail, a member from the EpiCore Global Surveillance Project reported the following:

The virus is type 1, all the children are under 3 years and have received more than 5 doses. The state has been asked to prepare immediate response plan to cover the two affected wards in Jere and Gwoza LGAs. bOPV is available for this and subsequent rounds that will be mounted in wider areas, targeting more children than the immediate response round. More details will come your way soon. Gwoza LGA because of the insurgents there, is not fully accessible.

The two accounts mention two different local governmental areas- Gwoza is a local government area of Borno State while Gwarzo is a local government area in Kano State.

There is no confirmation to date from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

We’ll be keeping are eyes peeled for more definitive information on the situation in Nigeria.

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