NPR, GlobalPost examine polio in Nigeria

NPR's "Shots" blog reports on an update about the polio situation in Nigeria, published Thursday in the CDC's latest issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), writing, "Despite beefed-up efforts to vaccinate kids and a flood of new resources, ... [t]here have been twice as many polio cases as last year, and a few communities, where kids chronically miss vaccines, are serving as 'sanctuaries' for the poliovirus, giving it a place to replicate and survive" (Doucleff, 11/8). "Ninety-nine new cases of polio have been reported in Nigeria in 2012 so far -- more than in the rest of the world combined, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative," GlobalPost notes, adding, "[W]hile the rest of the world celebrates the near-extinction of the disease, health officials warn the rise of polio in Nigeria this year could lead to a surge in other countries" (Murdock, 11/9). Although "[m]ore kids have been vaccinated this year compared to 2011, and health workers are now using modern satellite tools to track vaccinators and target kids who often get overlooked," the "Shots" blog notes, "If the virus isn't stopped in these communities by the middle of next year, the authors [of the MMWR update] call for 'additional innovative vaccination strategies to interrupt all WPV (Wild Polio Virus) transmission' in Nigeria" (11/8).