DOH: 8th polio case recorded in Basilan

The DOH urged the public again to participate in the “Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio” which started on November 25 and will end on December 7. (File photo: Department of Health (Philippines)/Facebook)

Adding to the cases that have been recorded in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, November 26, reported that a nine-year-old girl from Basilan was found to have polio.

According to the DOH, the victim did not receive any polio vaccine.

This is the eighth case recorded this year, after samples sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases – Japan tested positive for poliovirus.

The Health Department is now working with the Ministry of Health of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to maximize immunization and intensify polio vaccination efforts in Basilan.

The DOH urged the public again to participate in the “Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio,” held in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the whole of Mindanao, which started on November 25 and will end on December 7.

According to the department, health workers and vaccination teams will go house-to-house to ensure that all children below five years old will be vaccinated. Apart from this, health centers, government hospitals, fixed vaccination posts in barangays, malls, terminals, fast food restaurants, among others, will also provide vaccination.

“We are thankful for the participation and continued support of our local government units and communities in this campaign,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

Just last week, the DOH confirmed three more cases of polio all in Mindanao.

The first patient was a two-year-old female from Maguindanao, the second was a one-year-old male from Cotabato City, while the third was a four-year-old female from North Cotabato.

The DOH said the first two patients did not receive any dose of the polio vaccine, while the third patient received incomplete doses.