Baby under quarantine in Cotabato City for suspected polio

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Health department has quarantined a three-month-old infant in Cotabato City who is suspected to have contracted polio. 

The child is now confined at the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center.

The Department of Health-12 confirmed Thursday that the child was admitted to CRMC earlier this week for fever and paralysis of one leg.

The hospital has initiated tests to determine if the patient had indeed contracted poliomyelitis, according to Jenny Panizalez, information officer of DOH-12.

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According to a report by The STAR, no new confirmed infection had been reported as of Wednesday although several suspected polio cases are being monitored nationwide.

Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo said the reported seven Acute Flacid Paralysis (AFP) cases in Zamboanga peninsula were just part of the regular monitoring of the DOH.

"All cases of AFP or kids who have sudden weakness of lower extremities have been observed, tested and checked if it's polio and we are doing this all over the country. But so far, of all AFP cases, we only had two confirmed cases," Domingo said in an interview.

"There’s no additional confirmed cases, the only confirmed cases are still from Lanao and Laguna," he added.

To prevent the spread of polio, the DOH will conduct mass polio vaccination starting in Davao City, Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte.

There is also an ongoing supplemental polio vaccination in Manila, which will be expanded to other areas in the metropolis.