The Department of Health yesterday reported three new confirmed polio cases in Mindanao, bringing the total number of confirmed polio cases in the country to three.
“Samples from the three new cases that were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases-Japan came out positive for poliovirus,” the Health department said in a statement.
The three new cases involved a two-year-old girl from Maguindanao “who presented with fever and weakness in both legs”; the second case was a one-year-old boy from Cotabato City, who experienced fever, cough, and weakness in both legs; and the third, a four-year-old girl from North Cotabato who showed “fever, weakness of the right leg, neck, and facial muscle.”
“The first two cases were unvaccinated with the polio vaccine; while the third received incomplete dose,” the DoH noted.
The Health department said that the new cases were admitted at the Cotabato Regional Medical Center in Cotabato City.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III called on parents to bring their children to the health centers to be vaccinated against polio.
“We are reiterating to all parents and caregivers to have their zero to 59 months children immunized with the polio vaccine from Nov. 25 to Dec. 7,” said Duque.
“It is unacceptable that more children are falling victim to this vaccine-preventable disease. We are more determined than ever to make sure no child shall be missed during the next round of the ‘Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio’ in Metro Manila and Mindanao,” he added. (Analou de Vera)
