BACOLOD City – City councilor Cindy Rojas told the City Health Office (CHO) and the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD) to be persistent in intensifying its anti-polio campaign.
She cited the Department of Health’s (DOH) recent polio epidemic declaration after it recorded a case of the disease in Lanao del Sur.
According to Rojas, the city must push measures that will enhance polio prevention measures in the country. One of the preventive measures is the polio immunization campaign for all children under five years old, she said.
Rojas stressed that the CHO and the
DSSD are the implementing arms of Bacolod City in ensuring that Bacolodnons are
accorded with the benefit of having a dynamic and responsive healthcare
program, and basic social services.
The Philippines has been declared polio-free since 2000 but was put at
“high-risk” due to low vaccination. An outbreak was declared on Sept. 19, 2019,
after two cases of polio were reported.
Polio or poliomyelitis, according to DOH, is a potentially fatal and disabling disease caused by poliovirus, which is transmitted when there is poor environmental sanitation and hygiene.
Symptoms include fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiff neck and sudden onset of floppy arms or legs. In severe cases, it can lead to permanent paralysis or even death. Children under five years of age are most vulnerable to the disease./PN
