'Nigeria close to being Polio-free' according to World Health Organisation
Polio is no longer endemic in Nigeria, the World Health Organisation has said.
Only Afghanistan and Pakistan remain on the list of countries where the disease, which can cause life-long paralysis, is endemic. It can be prevented with a simple vaccination.
The UN health agency said in a statement that no new cases of the disease have been reported in the past 12 months. The last case of wild polio virus was recorded in Nigeria’s impoverished north on July 24 2014.
The WHO said the country and Africa as a whole are now closer than ever to being certified polio-free.
The agency said polio remains endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan and warned that as long as the disease exists anywhere “it’s a threat to children everywhere”.
