Nigeria May Be Next Country to Eliminate Polio

Nigeria and the other countries in the World Health Organization’s African region must pass 2 more years without reporting a case of polio to be declared polio-free. To achieve this goal, these African countries need to maintain high-quality surveillance and vaccination efforts. The wild polio virus can persist in infected people who exhibit no symptoms of the disease but who shed virus into the environment through their stools. For this reason, testing of sewage systems can help identify areas where polio might linger so that officials can mount a targeted immunization campaign.

This polio-free year on the African continent has occurred despite challenges including violence against health care workers involved in delivering vaccines.