Cebu, Mandaue to start river cleanup to stop polio

VIRUS SOURCE Water samples from the Butuanon River, which flows through the cities of Cebu and Mandaue, have tested positive for the virus causing polio. —CHRISTIAN MANINGO

CEBU CITY, Cebu, Philippines — At least 800 families in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue would be relocated as part of government efforts to clean up the Butuanon River after its water tested positive for the poliovirus.

In separate statements, Man¬daue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella said their respective local governments would clear identified “danger zones” along the river as a preventive measure against the disease, which resurfaced last year after the Philippines was declared polio-free in 2000.

Mandaue and Cebu officials said they were preparing relocation protocols and identifying possible resettlement sites.

They were also planning to intensify vaccination campaigns, especially in villages close to the river, and help health officers from the Department of Health (DOH) in documenting residents suspected to have contracted the virus.

“Sanitation is very important. Second, we continue with the profiling [of residents living along the Butuanon River], and third, we give vaccination. It’s going to be a citywide vaccination but we will first focus on the area within the 5-kilometer radius of the river,” Labella said.

The 23-km Butuanon River cuts across Cebu and Mandaue cities.

According to the World Health Organization, the poliovirus can be transmitted person-to-person through the fecal-oral route either directly or with a contaminated vehicle, such as food or water.

Patients often show symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs as the virus attacks the nervous system. Worse cases lead to paralysis.

Children below 5 years old are at risk of contracting polio, health officials said. Complete vaccination is the best preventive measure against the disease.

Dr. Jaime Bernadas, the DOH regional director in Central Visayas, said improper waste disposal might have caused the reemergence of the virus.

In 2018, the City Environment and Natural Resources Office of Mandaue recorded 62 establishments dumping untreated waste in the Butuanon River. Households lacking toilets also dispose of their waste into the same waterway.