January 16, 2020
MANILA, Philippines—New cases of polio were reported in Maguindanao and Quezon City following the rise of the number of its cases to 16 since the outbreak was declared in September 2019.
According to DOH, two additional cases of polio were recorded by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Maguindanao, both males ages two and three.
New cases of polio were also identified from a three-year-old male from Quezon City and a two-year-old from Sultan Kudarat after having shown the symptoms of the disease.
The patients were reported to have experienced fever, diarrhea, muscle pain, asymmetric ascending paralysis, and weakness of extremities. These are the primary symptoms displayed most commonly by patients, according to DOH.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization warns the public that children are at risk of lifelong paralysis because of the epidemic.
It can be recalled that the Philippines was declared “polio epidemic” on September 19, 2019. Following the outbreak, DOH responded by launching a mass polio immunization rounds starting on October 2019.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III remains firm in urging the parents to submit their children for vaccination through the agency’s Sabayang Patak Kontra Polio (SPKP).
“I urge all parents and caregivers of children under five years old to take part in the coming SPKP campaign rounds scheduled in your respective areas. Have your children, including those with private physicians or pediatricians, vaccinated with oral polio vaccine by health workers and ‘bakunators,” said Duque in a statement.
Source: Inquirer.net
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