This month would have marked the two-year anniversary of Nigeria being polio free, however the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) both confirmed two new cases. In separate statements, the organizations confirmed that both cases involved children located in the northern Borno state of Africa and resulted in paralysis. Using genetic sequencing, authorities confirmed that the cases are linked to the last wild poliovirus strain detected in the state in 2011. In response, the WHO and other Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners will be increasing surveillance and conducting a widespread immunization campaign. “It’s a blow,” said Sona Bari, a spokeswoman for the WHO’s polio program. “It’s the first time in history that a country has stopped transmission and then found indigenous virus again.”

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