Polio surveillance intensified
Quezon City will intensify its campaign against polio after the Department of Health reported a 3-year-old child in Sitio Kaliwa, Batasan Hills tested positive for the illness.
The Quezon City Health Department (QCHD), headed by Dr. Esperanza Arias, has been instructed to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that it remains an isolated case.
The city government will closely coordinate with the DoH to ensure the disease is prevented from spreading further.
Likewise, it will also extend assistance for the child’s medical needs.
The Quezon City Health Department will conduct a massive information campaign to encourage residents to practice proper hygiene and handwashing.
Based on initial investigation by the QCHD, the child received five doses of vaccine against polio. The first three vaccines were administered while the child was still an infant, and the other two during the DoH’s “Sabayang Pagpatak” campaign last year.
The child first showed symptoms of paralysis last 30 November 2019. The child then underwent a battery of tests at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. Some of the samples were also sent to Japan for testing.
Based on test results from RITM and Japan that came out on Thursday, the victim was found positive for Type 2 Polio.
Arias said the city government will hold another round of vaccination against polio as soon as they receive the needed supply from DoH.