Maguindanao health authorities monitor 7 new cases of polio

COTABATO CITY —Health authorities in Maguindanao province of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have recorded new cases of polio, the provincial health chief said Saturday.

Health chief Dr. Elizabeth Samama said seven new cases have been confirmed, with one case each in the towns of Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Rajah Buayan, Datu Piang, Datu Hofer, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu Abdullah Sangki, and Datu Anggal Midtimbang.

“The range of age of affected children are eight-month to four-year old,” Samama told GMA News Online.

Photo by F. Cabrera

Samama, who is also the head the Maguindanao Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), said the seven new cases were only discovered this January.

Earlier, two confirmed polio cases (both male aged 2 and 3) were monitored in Maguindanao.

Quick-response health providers, locally called “bakunadors”,  have doubled their efforts to contain the virus.

“The good thing is, our teams on the ground have monitored immediately the sources of the virus, and we are responding accordingly to contain the said disease,” according to Samama.

However, she admitted there is no cure yet to polio. But she expressed optimism that immediate response could give them better chance at rehabilitation.

On January 20, more than 1,000 ground health workers, will again troop to houses across the province to administer the third round of anti-polio vaccination, (Sabayang Patak) to children aged 0 to 59 months old.

During the second round of massive vaccination last year (Nov. 25 to Dec. 7), Dr. Samama said least 98 percent of the 195,068 children (or 191,065) have received anti-polio drops.

About 4,003 of these target children have not been vaccinated due resistance of their parents against mass immunization.

She, again, appealed to all parents in Maguindanao to make their children available for vaccination.

“Anti-polio vaccines are safe, no overdose with the oral polio vaccine, no side effects, halal (allowed by Islamic faith) and the most effective way to protect children from polio virus,” Samama said. —LBG, GMA News