MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) – Military helicopters on Friday rushed polio vaccines to dangerous parts of northeastern Nigeria, where Boko Haram operates and two paralyzed toddlers were recently discovered, a Nigerian health official said.
The World Health Organization said the new cases indicate the wild polio virus has circulated undetected for five years in Borno state – a major setback after Nigeria was declared polio-free in October.
Recent attacks by the Islamic extremists prevented the emergency operation from getting health workers to two parts of Borno state where the children were found, Borno state health commissioner Ibrahim Miringa told The Associated Press.
Massive challenges face Nigerian health workers supported by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to urgently vaccinate millions of endangered children in an area where the U.N. suspended aid after a military-escorted humanitarian convoy was attacked last month.
“Not all the areas that have been liberated by the military could be accessed by our health officials because of recent attacks in Jere and Gwoza local government areas carried out by Boko Haram,” Miringa said. Jere and Gwoza are the areas where the first two cases of polio were found in Nigeria in more than two years, the WHO announced Thursday night.