Wed 02 October 2019:
The International Red Cross and its Philippine affiliate have warned of an “alarming comeback” of the polio virus in the country, prompting the government to declare a national outbreak.
The humanitarian group said in a statement on Wednesday that it is “scaling up” its efforts in the Philippines to help contain the highly infectious disease, which was declared eradicated in the country 19 years ago.
Chris Staines, head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in the Philippines, said as many as 11 million Filipino children under the age of five face a “high risk of disability and even death” because of the virus.
“We appeal to all parents to protect their children against the virus during this massive, synchronised nationwide campaign,” Staines said.
“The Philippines has eradicated polio before, and together we can do it again.”
In mid-September, the Philippines health department reported that a three-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy tested positive for polio – the first confirmed case since 2000.
A single case of polio requires the government to automatically declare an outbreak.
The polio virus was also detected in sewage in the capital Manila and the waterways in the city of Davao, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Following the report, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the country risks more cases of polio unless it sharply steps up its vaccination of children under the age of five.
Low immunisation rates have contributed to the outbreak, according to the Red Cross.
Immunisation coverage in the Philippines for oral polio vaccines is 66 percent but needs to be at 95 percent, WHO’s Philippines representative Rabindra Abeyasinghe said.
So far, only 40 percent of children under the age of five have received a polio vaccine by injection. That means three out of five children under five have not been vaccinated.
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