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LONDON – Health officials around the world say they have identified two cases of polio in Mozambique caused by a mutated virus in the vaccine, marking another setback for attempts to eradicate the debilitating disease.
In a report released this week, the World Health Organization and its partners said they confirmed the presence of two cases of polio in a six-year-old girl and one of her contacts. Officials said that the tested isolates had revealed that they were infected with a virus derived from the vaccine. In rare cases, the virus contained in the oral polio vaccine may be transformed into a form likely to cause new epidemics.
Officials have missed repeated deadlines for polio eradication and face many challenges in the remaining countries where the disease is circulating. Last year, there were dozens of cases elsewhere in Africa, including Nigeria, Congo and Somalia.
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