The Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed the fourth polio case in the country.
“The test conducted by our Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases- Japan confirms the fourth polio case in the country,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a statement.
The Health department, however, did not provide further details about the new polio case.
The DoH confirmed the third polio case in the country last Oct. 28, involving a four-year-old girl from Datu Piang, Maguindanao.
Two confirmed cases of polio were declared last September that involved a three-year-old girl from Lanao del Sur and a five-year-old boy from Laguna.
Duque called on the public to “trust and and actively participate” in the government’s immunization program.
“Polio is best prevented through vaccination. The virus is transmitted through oral-fecal route. Hand-washing will also help in the prevention,” said the Health chief.
Duque reported that they reached their target – 96 percent coverage – for the synchronized polio vaccination campaign conducted in Metro Manila and some parts of Mindanao from Oct. 14 to 27.
The polio vaccination campaign is set to be expanded to the whole of Mindanao on Nov. 25 for the second round of the campaign, and will conclude with the last round of vaccination on Jan. 6, 2020.
The last round of vaccination in Metro Manila is scheduled on Nov. 25. (Analou de Vera)