17th polio case in PH recorded in Cabanatuan — DOH

According to the Health Department, the latest patient was a one-year-old boy from Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija, who suffered from fever and “sudden onset of weakness” on the left lower limb. (File photo: Department of Health (Philippines)/Facebook)

Another case of polio in the country has been confirmed by the Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday, February 15.

This has brought the number of polio cases tallied to 17 since the outbreak was declared in September 2019.

According to the Health Department, the latest patient was a one-year-old boy from Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija, who suffered from fever and “sudden onset of weakness” on the left lower limb.

“The case was detected through surveillance of AFP (Acute Flaccid Paralysis) cases in the communities done and reported by barangay health workers,” the DOH said.

It added that according to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, samples from Butuanon River in Cebu have also tested positive for the poliovirus.

To address this, the DOH said it is helping the cities of Cabanatuan and Mandaue to strengthen their “Acute Flaccid Paralysis surveillance capacities, including their identification and reporting mechanisms,” adding that they are working with the World Health Organization (WHO) for appropriate vaccination response.

“It is important that we are able to timely detect any acute onset of paralysis in children – especially within our communities. We have evidence that the poliovirus continues to spread,” the Health Department said.

“Our aim is to promptly diagnose and treat all possible polio cases,” it added.

The DOH’s Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio (SPKP) campaign remains to be implemented in Metro Manila and in all regions of Mindanao.

Last January, the DOH confirmed four more polio cases in the country. The patients were two- and three-year-old boys from Maguindanao, a two-year-old boy from Sultan Kudarat, and a three-year-old boy from Quezon City.

All of them, the DOH said, manifested “fever, diarrhea, muscle pain, asymmetric ascending paralysis and weakness of extremities.”