CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 25 Sep) – The three-year-old girl from Lanao del Sur who tested positive of poliovirus is already experiencing debilitating effects on both her legs, hindering her movements, doctors said Tuesday.
Marogong, Lanao del Sur
Dr. Alinader Minalang, Lanao del Sur provincial health officer, said the girl now rarely goes out of their house in the municipality of Marogong.
“She is now experiencing muscle weakness in her two limbs, making walking painful,” he added.
The Maranao girl and a five-year-old-boy from Laguna province have been tested positive of polio, prompting health authorities to announce that the highly infectious disease has reemerged in the country after 19 years of absence.
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) also said water samples in a river in Davao City were found to be contaminated with the poliovirus.
Minalang said the girl was unvaccinated for polio having stayed in Quiapo until she was one year old.
He said the parents brought the girl back to their native town of Marogong where she spent two years until she complained of fever and weakness last June.
Minalang said the girl’s parents could not produce any documents that would show the child was given OPV doses.
He said their office is now coordinating with the Ministry of Health of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to find a neurologist to help the child.
Minalang said Lanao del Sur health personnel have taken water samples along the river in Marogong town, a fourth class municipality in Lanao del Sur.
Poliovirus can be spread from person to person through infected fecal matter entering the mouth.
The Department of Health said it will conduct a massive polio vaccination for children below five years old in Marawi City and Lanao del Sur on October 14. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
