BREAKING: DOH confirms 3 more polio cases

ORAL VACCINE AGAINST POLIO. The Department of Health (DOH) has started conducting synchronized oral polio vaccinations n October to protect children under 5 years old against the poliovirus. – On Wednesday, November 20, 2019, DOH confirms three new cases of polio – all in Mindanao, bringing the total number of polio cases in the country this year to seven. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday confirmed three more cases of polio in the country.

DOH said the three new cases were all from Mindanao and that the patients were admitted to the Cotabato Regional Medical Center.

The first case, the health department said, is a two-year-old female from Maguindanao; the second case is a one-year-old male from Cotabato City; while the third case is a four-year-old female from North Cotabato.

Samples from the three cases were sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases-Japan, according to DOH, and that results of the test came out positive for the poliovirus.

With the confirmation of three new cases, the number of polio cases in the country this year has increased to seven.

“It is unacceptable that more children are falling victim to this vaccine-preventable disease. We are more determined than ever to make sure that no child shall be missed during the next round of the Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio in Metro Manila and Mindanao,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in a DOH statement.

“We should not be satisfied with our children receiving only 1 or 2 doses of the polio vaccine. Let us ensure that they receive the complete doses of the vaccine to fully protect them from Polio,” Duque added as he explained that two of the three cases were unvaccinated while the other case received incomplete doses.

Edited by KGA