DOH steps up anti-polio drive after Indon outbreak

The Department of Health (DOH) has stepped up its anti-polio campaign in Mindanao to prevent the back-door entry of the disease, which has already affected 226 children in neighboring Indonesia.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Philippines could not be complacent about polio.

"The threat of polio entering the country is becoming to be very real. From six countries in 2003 that still have cases, the number has now grown to 16," he said.

Poliovirus is a highly infectious disease that invades the nervous system and could cause paralysis in a matter of hours in some cases.

The disease usually affects children below three years old, but adults are not totally spared. It is incurable, but can easily be prevented through vaccination.

DOH records showed that the last polio case in the Philippines was in 1993, while Indonesia had been polio-free for the last 10 years.

Last Wednesday, Duque led the launching of the first round of the "Polio Special Immunization Days" at the Maguindanao provincial Capitol grounds.

"We aim to vaccinate around 605,000 children aged under five in the provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Zamboanga in order to ensure that no wild poliovirus enters the country through our backdoor ports," he said.

The launching coincided with a similar activity in Indonesia in coordination with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund, which donated P5.6 million for anti-polio vaccines.

The second round is scheduled on Sept. 26 in Lanao del Sur, Marawi, Maguindanao, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Isabela City and Zamboanga City.