Polio cases surge to 16

The Department of Health (DOH) has confirmed four new cases of polio. In totality, there are already 16 polio cases in the country since its outbreak in September 2019.

According to Manila Bulletin, the cases involved two boys, aged 2 and 3 years old from Maguindanao; a 2-year-old boy from Sulatan Kudarat; and a 3-year-old boy from Quezon City.

In the same report, DOH said that the patients had fever, diarrhea, muscle pain, asymmetric ascending paralysis and weakness of extremities.

 “Have your children, including those with private physicians or pediatricians, vaccinated with oral polio vaccine by health workers and ‘bakunators’. Additional polio doses can provide additional protection to your children,” stated Health Secretary Francisco Duque III in an article by Inquirer.

The World Health Organization has declared the Philippines as polio-free in 2000, however 19 years later, polio resurfaced.