SciDev.Net

Traditional rulers in northern Nigeria have asked the government to stop its polio eradication campaign, claiming the vaccine is unsafe.

The rulers base their advice on a report by a medical team that tested the vaccine in India under the aegis of Jama'atul Nasril Islam (JNI), northern Nigeria's Muslim umbrella organisation. Team leader Haruna Kaita says the vaccine carries contaminants that can cause malfunctioning in the testes and infertility in women.

The report is being challenged by another team who conducted similar tests on the vaccine for the government. Health minister Eyitayo Lambo says the government is in touch with JNI and is confident it will solve the problem soon.

Link to article in the British Medical Journal

Reference: BMJ 328, 306 (2004)