2019–20 Philippines polio outbreak

The 2019–2020 Philippines polio outbreak is an ongoing epidemic. For the past 19 years, the Philippines was freed of any polio-related diseases. It was until September 14, 2019, when the disease began to resurface again through a positive test result done to a 3-year-old girl from the southern Philippines. After the confirmation of a second case from tests done on a 5-year-old boy, the government of the Philippines publicly declared the polio outbreak on September 19, 2019.[1]

2019–2020 Philippines polio outbreak
DateSeptember 19, 2019
LocationPhilippines
TypeOutbreak

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Philippines was eradicated of polio in the year 2000.[2]

Outbreak

On September 19, 2019, a polio outbreak was reported in the Philippines. After two polio cases were reported, the authorities inspected several places including Metro Manila and Davao City. Samples taken from several places across Manila were confirmed to contain "vaccine-derived polio virus" type 2 (VDPV2), similar to the pathogen found on the first two confirmed cases.[1] The government decided to vaccinate all the children regardless of whether they have been affected by polio or not. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) have worked with the government of the Philippines in a massive polio vaccination campaign; other NGOs like the Red Cross are also collaborating in the campaign as well.[3]

Four cases have been confirmed as of November 5, 2019: the first was a three-year-old girl in Lanao del Sur with the other cases reported in Laguna, Maguindanao, and Sultan Kudarat.[4][5] It is believed that the public's distrust in the country's poor healthcare system is a cause of the polio outbreak.[6]

This is not the first disease outbreak in the Philippines in 2019. In February 2019, a measles outbreak occurred as a result of public distrust in the Philippines' poor healthcare system.[7] As of January 2019, the Philippines has been combating a dengue outbreak, the worst dengue outbreak that the Philippines has experienced since 2012. Like the measles outbreak, the dengue outbreak was also caused by public distrust of the dengue vaccination campaign in 2012.[8]

Response

Domestic

During this epidemic, WHO, UNICEF and other private medical communities are working hand in hand to help the Philippines Department of Health in conducting enormous vaccination runs throughout Metro Manila, Davao City, Marawi, and other major cities in the country.[9] The campaign sought to end the rise of the deadly virus. According to the Philippine Red Cross, the duration of the mass vaccination run happened between October 14 and 27, 2019; the number of children they aimed to have vaccinated is 65,000 children.[9]

As of October 2, 2019, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has pledged US$336,700 from it relief funds in efforts to eradicate polio from the Philippines.[6]

International

Not only is the outbreak proving a risk to citizens of the Philippines, but other neighboring countries are keeping watch on the spread of the disease as well. An advisory was released by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia to the Philippines, in aiming to prevent the spread of polio.[10]

References
  1. "WHO | Polio outbreak– The Philippines". WHO. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  2. Gutierrez, Jason (September 19, 2019). "Philippines Declares Polio Outbreak After 19 Years Free of the Disease". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  3. "Massive vaccine campaign underway in the Philippines after polio's return". Public Radio International. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  4. Crisostomo, Sheila (November 6, 2019). "DOH confirms Philippine's 4th polio case". The Philippine Star. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  5. Arguilas, Carolyn (October 29, 2019). "2 of 3 confirmed polio cases are from BARMM; 3rd is from Datu Piang". MindaNews. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  6. "Red Cross alarm over polio outbreak in Philippines after 19 years". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  7. "Philippines: Vaccine scare blamed for deadly measles outbreak". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  8. "Philippines: Worst dengue outbreak in years kills over a thousand". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  9. "WHO and UNICEF back the Department of Health in vaccinating 1.8 million children against polio". www.unicef.org. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  10. "Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Manila, Accredited to the Republic of Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau the Republic of the Philippines". Kementerian Luar Negeri Repulik Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved November 19, 2019.
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