Nigerian state of Kano resumes polio vaccination

doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7457.70-d

BMJ 2004;329:70 (10 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7457.70-d

News roundup

Nigerian state of Kano resumes polio vaccination

Geneva Fiona Fleck

The northern Nigerian state of Kano has agreed to resume polio vaccination early this month, reviving hopes of the World Health Organization that transmission of the disease may be permanently halted by the end of the year.

WHO has issued a warning to travellers to Nigeria to ensure that their polio vaccinations are up to date and has reminded them they need a booster every four to six years, otherwise they can become infected and spread the virus.

Polio has been spreading fast across Nigeria since Kano, the largest of the northern Islamic states, suspended vaccination last August, claiming that the oral vaccine caused infertility and led to the spread of HIV.

Since then the disease has infected and paralysed 26 children in 10 African countries that had been free of polio for about three years because of the success of earlier immunisation campaigns (26 June, p . . . [Full text of this article]

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