Confirmed polio cases in Philippines rise to 7

MANILA, Philippines — Three more children aged one, two and four years in Mindanao have tested positive for poliovirus, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

This brings to seven the number of polio cases in the country since a new case was recorded last September, the first in 19 years, according to DOH Undersecretary Eric Domingo.

Domingo said they are looking at water supply as the possible source of infection, since polio is spread through the orofecal route.

In a statement, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the samples taken from the children were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and then to Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases and they all came out positive for poliovirus.

All three cases were admitted at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center.

Prior to this, the DOH had documented four other polio cases that included a three-year-old girl in Lanao del Sur, a five-year-old boy in Laguna, a four-year-old girl in Maguindanao and another three-year-old girl in Sultan Kudarat.

The victim from Laguna is considered as an “inactive polio case” because he is immuno-compromised due to multiple pediatric illnesses.

The statement shows the fifth case is a two-year-old girl from Maguindanao who had fever and weakness in both legs, while the sixth case is a one-year-old boy from Cotabato City who manifested fever, cough and weakness in both legs.

The seventh case is a four-year-old girl from North Cotabato that had fever, weakness of the right leg, neck and facial muscles.

The fifth and sixth cases were unvaccinated, while the third received incomplete doses.

“It is unacceptable that more children are falling victim to this vaccine-preventable disease. We are more determined than ever to make sure that no child shall be missed during the next round of the Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio in Metro Manila and Mindanao,” Duque noted.

He added that parents and guardians should not be satisfied if their children receive incomplete or only one or two doses of polio vaccines.

“Let us ensure that they receive the complete doses of the vaccine to fully protect them from polio,” he said.

On Nov. 25, the DOH will start another round of door-to-door vaccination in Metro Manila and the entire Mindanao. This will be expanded to the rest of the country next year.

“We are reiterating to all parents and caregivers to have their 0-59 months children immunized with the polio vaccine from Nov. 25 to Dec. 7,” Duque added.

Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines president Anna Ong-Lim backed Duque’s call, saying that a majority of childhood illnesses are preventable through vaccines.

“The basic vaccines needed by our children are available in health centers. We just have to bring our children there to be vaccinated. Let’s not deprive our children of this protection,” Lim added.