20 Sep DOH Declares Polio Outbreak; Virus Detected In 3-Year-Old Girl From Lanao del Sur
Photos by Phlippine News Agency and Time Magazine.
Mga higala! The Department of Health (DOH) has declared a polio outbreak in the Philippines, after confirming a case of the disease in Lanao del Sur, and after environmental samples tested positive for poliovirus in Davao and Manila!
Based on reports, the DOH detected the disease in a 3-year-old girl who was unvaccinated against polio but is “now apparently well but with residual paralysis.”
DOH also added that they found type 1 poliovirus in Manila and type 2 in Davao.
These are “considered an epidemic in a polio-free country,” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
In case you don’t know, with the help of vaccines, the Philippines was declared polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO) in October 2000. This is the country’s first confirmed case of the disease after 19 years.
For more details:
https://www.rappler.com/nation/240493-polio-back-philippines
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/19/19/after-19-years-polio-reemerges-in-philippines
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