2019–2021 polio outbreak in the Philippines explained

Disease:Polio
Virus Strain:
Location:Philippines
Index Case:Marogong, Lanao del Sur
Date:September 19, 2019 – June 11, 2021
Confirmed Cases:17[2]
Hospitalised Cases:-->
Deaths:0
Vaccinations:4,750,000+
[3]

The 2019–2021 polio outbreak in the Philippines was an epidemic. For the previous 19 years, the Philippines was free of any polio-related diseases. On September 14, 2019, the disease began to resurface through a positive test result done to a 3-year-old girl from Mindanao. After the confirmation of a second case from tests done on a 5-year-old boy, the government of the Philippines publicly declared a polio outbreak on September 19, 2019.[4] On June 11, 2021, the WHO announced that the outbreak has ended.[5]

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Philippines eradicated polio in 2000.[6]

Epidemiology

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.[4] 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.[7]

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.[8] [9] It is believed that the public's distrust in the country's poor healthcare system is a cause of the polio outbreak.[10]

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.[11] 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.[12]

The World Health Organization and UNICEF Philippines, declared the official end of the polio outbreak on June 11, 2021, after the virus has not been detected in the past 16 months.[13]

+ style="font-size:11pt;" Case
no.
DateAgeGenderNotes
13FemaleIndex case involving a girl from Marogong, Lanao del Sur[14] [15]
25MaleFrom Laguna; immunocompromised[16]
34FemaleFrom Datu Piang, Maguindanao
4??From an unspecified location in Mindanao[17] [18]
52FemaleFrom Maguindanao
61MaleFrom Cotabato City
74FemaleFrom Cotabato
89FemaleFrom Basilan[19]
9–12No data
132MaleFrom Maguindanao[20]
143MaleFrom Maguindanao
152MaleFrom Sultan Kudarat
163MaleFrom Quezon City
171MaleFrom Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija[21]

Response

Domestic

During this epidemic, WHO, UNICEF and other private medical communities collaborated 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.[22] 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.[22]

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.[10]

International

The outbreak not only poses a risk to the citizens of the Philippines but also raises concerns among neighboring countries regarding the spread of the disease. The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia to the Philippines has issued an advisory with the objective of containing the transmission of polio..[23]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Situation Report 12: Polio Outbreak . 11 June 2021 . 20 September 2020.
  2. News: 'Major win': WHO, UNICEF declare end of polio outbreak in Philippines . 11 June 2021 . ABS-CBN News . 11 June 2021 . en.
  3. News: DOH: 95% of polio vaccination target reached . 11 June 2021 . Philippine News Agency . 30 August 2020 . en.
  4. Web site: WHO Polio outbreak– The Philippines. https://web.archive.org/web/20190929194049/https://www.who.int/csr/don/24-september-2019-polio-outbreak-the-philippines/en/. dead. September 29, 2019. WHO. November 18, 2019.
  5. Web site: WHO declares end of polio outbreak in PH. June 11, 2021. June 11, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210611063526/https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/6/11/Philippine-polio-outbreak-ends.html. dead.
  6. News: Philippines Declares Polio Outbreak After 19 Years Free of the Disease. Gutierrez. Jason. September 19, 2019. The New York Times. November 18, 2019. en-US. 0362-4331.
  7. Web site: Massive vaccine campaign underway in the Philippines after polio's return. Public Radio International. en. November 19, 2019.
  8. News: Crisostomo . Sheila . DOH confirms Philippine's 4th polio case . 20 November 2019 . The Philippine Star . 6 November 2019.
  9. News: Arguilas . Carolyn . 2 of 3 confirmed polio cases are from BARMM; 3rd is from Datu Piang . 20 November 2019 . MindaNews . 29 October 2019.
  10. Web site: Red Cross alarm over polio outbreak in Philippines after 19 years. www.aljazeera.com. 2019-11-21.
  11. Web site: Philippines: Vaccine scare blamed for deadly measles outbreak. www.aljazeera.com. 2019-11-21.
  12. Web site: Philippines: Worst dengue outbreak in years kills over a thousand. www.aljazeera.com. 2019-11-21.
  13. News: Polio outbreak ends in Philippines . 11 June 2021 . Sun Star . 11 June 2021.
  14. News: Hunt . Katie . Polio makes a comeback in the Philippines 19 years after the country was declared free of the disease . 11 June 2021 . CNN . 19 September 2019.
  15. Web site: DOH reports 3rd confirmed case of polio in Maguindanao . 11 June 2021 . June 11, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210611130021/https://doh.gov.ph/press-release/DOH-reports-3rd-confirmed-case-of-polio-in-maguindanao . dead .
  16. News: DOH confirms 2nd case of polio in the Philippines . 11 June 2021 . Rappler . 20 September 2021 . en.
  17. News: DOH confirms 4th case of polio in the Philippines . 11 June 2021 . Rappler . 5 November 2019.
  18. Web site: DOH confirms three more cases of polio . Department of Health . 11 June 2021 . 20 November 2019 . June 11, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210611130026/https://doh.gov.ph/doh-press-release/DOH%20CONFIRMS%20THREE%20MORE%20CASES%20OF%20POLIO . dead .
  19. News: DOH confirms 8th polio case in the country . 11 June 2021 . Department of Health . 25 November 2019 . June 11, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210611130010/https://doh.gov.ph/doh-press-release/doh-confirms-8th-polio-case-in-the-country . dead .
  20. Web site: DOH confirms new polio cases in the country . 11 June 2021 . Department of Health . 16 January 2020 . June 11, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210611130010/https://doh.gov.ph/DOH-CONFIRMS-NEW-POLIO-CASES-IN-THE-COUNTRY . dead .
  21. Web site: DOH confirms 17th polio case in the country . Department of Health . 11 June 2021 . 15 February 2020 . June 11, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210611125916/https://doh.gov.ph/DOH-CONFIRMS-17TH-POLIO-CASE-IN-THE-COUNTRY . dead .
  22. Web site: WHO and UNICEF back the Department of Health in vaccinating 1.8 million children against polio. www.unicef.org. en. November 18, 2019.
  23. Web site: 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. id. November 19, 2019.