Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Monday reported the third confirmed polio case in the country”•a four-year-old girl from Datu Piang in Maguindanao.
He said the latest patient did not receive any dose of the oral polio vaccine, and that hers was initially reported as a case of acute flaccid paralysis on Sept. 26, 2019, after she was brought to the Cotabato Regional Medical Center.
Meanwhile, the City of Taguig ranked first among Metro Manila’s local government units in implementing the Health department’s campaign against the polio virus.
On the 11th day of the 14-day program, Taguig received a rating of 102 percent, receiving the highest score among the cities and municipalities of National Capital Region. It successfully vaccinated 96,866 children.
These results were validated by teams from the Health department and the World Health Organization that conducted Rapid Coverage Assessment.
Duque said the latest patient presented signs of fever, diarrhea, vomiting and muscle pain.
On Oct. 24, her stool samples sent to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases-Japan tested positive for vaccine-derived poliovirus 2 (VDPV2).
The polio virus isolated was genetically linked to the VDPV2 from the confirmed Polio case in Morogong, Lanao del Sur.
Duque said the samples from another suspected case were sent for testing, and that they were now awaiting results and confirmation.
As part of its polio response, the Health department will be conducting a vaccination campaign in Datu Piang, Maguindanao on Nov. 4 to 8 among 4,254 children aged 0 to 59 months.
Duque said the stocks of OPV were enough and that preparations were underway.
The Health department, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund will meet with the officials of Datu Piang on Oct. 28 to 29 to discuss their outbreak response.
“I enjoin all parents and guardians to ensure that all of your children are protected from all vaccine-preventable diseases,” Duque said.
Duque on Friday reminded parents and those taking care of children below five years old to bring them to the nearest health center for vaccination until Oct. 27 as part of his department’s campaign against Polio.
“We want to make it clear that we are vaccinating children 0 to 59 months old only, those who have not yet turned five years old,” Duque said.
Polio is a highly contagious disease transmitted through the fecal-oral route. It is caused by the polio virus and may result in life-long paralysis and even death. Children below the age of five are the most vulnerable to this disease. However, it is vaccine-preventable. With Joel E. Zurbano
