Background to the Study
Poliomyelitis which is often called polio or infantile paralysis is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Poliovirus is transmitted from one person to another by oral contact with secretions or faecal material from an infected person. Most poliovirus infections cause asymptomatic viral replication that is limited to the alimentary tract. Poliomyelitis a feared disease in the world due to its tragic legacy of paralysis and deformity. Nigeria is one of only 3 countries globally that is yet to interrupt and eradicate this endemic. Polio cases in Nigeria increased steadily from 2009 to 2012. In 2012, Nigeria accounted for 50% of total global polio cases and contributed 95% of cases in the World Health Organisation (WHO) African Region. In 2013 (provisionally as of 11 March 2014), Nigeria contributed 13.1% of the 406 global case burden and 33.1% of cases from polioendemic countries. Experts are of the opinion that the pandemic is more pronounced in the northern part of the Nigeria of which Nasarawa state is part. Because of this, various campaign programmes through mass media have been initiated by both the government and the nongovernmental organisations which are aimed at eradicating the polio virus. According to Umezurike (2017), in polio-endemic countries such as Nigeria, supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) for the house-to-house delivery of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) remain the major strategy to deliver oral poliovirus vaccines to all eligible children
