HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III on Tuesday night confirmed the fourth case of polio in the country, a 3-year-old girl from Sultan Kudarat.
“The test conducted by our Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the National Institute of Infectious Disease-Japan confirms the fourth polio case in the country,” Duque said.
Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo the girl was based in Maguindanao for a month but is now residing in Sultan Kudarat.
“It is uncertain where the virus came from in the two areas,” Domingo said, adding the latest case does not have an oral polio vaccine.
The Department of Health said it will continue its immunization campaign for children aged five and below in the towns where the third and fourth cases of polio were found.
Duque also reminded parents and caregivers in Mindanao that the second round of the polio immunization campaign in the area will begin on November 25.
“We can defeat polio, but we need the public to trust and actively participate in our immunization program,” said Duque.
Last September, the DOH reported two confirmed cases of polio in the country — a 3-year-old girl from Lanao Del Sur and a 5-year-old boy from Laguna. Last week, a 4-year-old girl from Datu Piang, Maguindanao became the third confirmed case of the deadly virus.
The health department had declared a polio epidemic, explaining that even just one case can be considered as an outbreak in the country which had been declared as polio-free in 1999.
