Progress Toward Poliomyelitis Eradication — Nigeria, January 2011–September 2012

In 1988, the World Health Assembly launched the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) and, in 2012, declared the completion of polio eradication a programmatic emergency for global public health (1). To date, wild poliovirus (WPV) cases reported worldwide in 2012 are at historically low levels. Nigeria is one of only three countries with uninterrupted WPV transmission (in addition to Pakistan and Afghanistan) and has been the origin of WPV imported into 25 previously polio-free countries since 2003 (2–4). This report updates previous reports (2–3,5) and describes polio eradication activities and progress in Nigeria during January 2011–September 2012, as of October 30, 2012. The number of reported WPV cases increased from 21 in 2010 to 62 in 2011. During January–September 2012, a total of 99 WPV cases were reported, more than doubling from the 42 cases reported during the same period in 2011. During 2011, a total of 32 circulating vaccine-derived polio virus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases were confirmed; six cVDPV2 cases were confirmed during January–September 2012, compared with 18 cVDPV2 cases during the same period in 2011. Nigeria\'s 2012 Polio Eradication Emergency Plan (6) includes senior government leadership oversight, new program management and strategic initiatives, an accountability framework, and a surge in human resources to address chronically missed children during supplemental immunization activities (SIAs).* In 2012, indicators of immunization campaign quality show modest improvements; available data indicate gaps in surveillance. Continuing WPV transmission in Nigeria poses an ongoing risk for WPV reintroduction and outbreaks in polio-free countries and is a major obstacle to achieving global eradication (7).