The Health department said Monday a nine-year old child was the eighth polio case in the Philippines after the samples sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases-Japan confirmed it.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the latest polio case was from Basilan, which had not received any vaccines for polio.
His department is coordinating with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao-Ministry of Health to maximize immunization coverage and intensify polio vaccination in Basilan.
Duque said the stocks of oral polio vaccines were enough, and that the preparations for the outbreak response immunization for the outbreak were underway.
He reminded the public of the next round of Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio from Nov. 25 to Dec. 7 in the National Capital Region and the whole of Mindanao.
“I urge all parents and caregivers of children under five years old to take part in the Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio campaign and have their children vaccinated by our health workers,” Duque said.
All children below five years of age, regardless of immunization status, will receive a dose of the oral polio vaccine during the campaign.
Health workers and vaccination teams are set to go house-to-house to ensure that all children under five years of age are vaccinated. Health centers, government hospitals, fixed vaccination posts in barangays, malls, terminals and fast food chains, among others, will also be providing vaccination.
“We are thankful for the participation and continued support of our local government units and communities in this campaign,” Duque said.
“I am confident that we will be successful in halting this outbreak if we continue to work together and make sure that no child is left unvaccinated.”
Duque declared a polio outbreak in September after he confirmed the first case involving a three-year old girl from Lanao del Sur.
The second and third cases were a five-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl from Laguna and Maguindanao, respectively.
The fourth to seventh cases were all in Mindanao, including a one-year-old girl from Maguindanao, a one-year-old boy from Cotabato City and a four-year-old girl from Cotabato.
The World Health Organization had been polio-free since 2001 until its resurgence in September.