More than a month after a polio outbreak was declared in the Philippines due to two confirmed cases, a third case of the disease was confirmed by the Department of Health yesterday.
The disease was found in a four-year-old girl from Datu Piang, Maguindanao who did not receive any dose of the oral polio vaccine, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.
Stool samples sent to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan on Oct. 24 tested positive for vaccine-derived poliovirus 2, Duque said, adding that the polio virus isolated was genetically linked to the VDPV2 from the confirmed polio case in Morogong, Lanao del Sur, the first confirmed polio case in the country since it was declared polio-free in 2000.
The Health Secretary said that the patient was initially reported for a case of acute flaccid paralysis last Sept. 26 after seeking consultation at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center in Cotabato City. She had shown signs and symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle pain.
The DoH also revealed that samples from another suspected case were sent for testing and awaiting results and confirmation. The third confirmed case prompted the Health department to conduct a vaccination campaign in Datu
Piang, Maguindanao from Nov. 4 to 8 to vaccinate 4,254 children aged zero to 59 months.
The Health chief assured that stocks of OPV are sufficient and that preparations are under way. (Betheena Kae Unite)