DOH confirms 4 new polio cases in PH

In a statement, the DOH said the total number of polio cases in the country is now 16. (File photo: Department of Health (Philippines)/Facebook)

MANILA — The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday confirmed four more polio cases nationwide following the declaration of an outbreak in September 2019.

In a statement, the DOH said the total number of polio cases in the country is now 16.

The Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) reported two additional polio cases from Maguindanao, both males, aged two- and three-years old; one polio case from Sultan Kudarat, a two-year old male; and one polio case from Quezon City, a three-year old male.

They manifested fever, diarrhea, muscle pain, asymmetric ascending paralysis and weakness of extremities.

To ensure that no child is left unvaccinated and to boost protection for those already vaccinated, the DOH extended its Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio (SPKP) with the succeeding rounds scheduled from January 20 to February 2 in all regions of Mindanao, and from January 27 to February 7 in the National Capital Region.

“I urge all parents and caregivers of children under five years old to take part in the coming SPKP campaign rounds scheduled in your respective areas. Have your children, including those with private physicians or pediatricians, vaccinated with oral polio vaccine by health workers and bakunators (vaccinators),” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

“There is no overdose with the oral polio vaccine as additional polio doses can provide additional protection to children,” he said.

In line with its aim to accomplish 95 percent coverage in all identified areas for every SPKP round, the DOH, together with the local government units, urged all health facilities to strengthen their Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance and to promptly report every case of AFP in any child under 15 years of age and gather sufficient stool specimen samples.

“The outbreak must be put to a halt, and we can only do this if all our health facilities are achieving the targets for all AFP surveillance indicators, and if every SPKP round, all of the target population are reached and vaccinated. The DOH, its partners, and the LGUs will continue to work hand-in-hand to ensure that no child is left behind in our fight against polio,” Duque said.