Thursday, March 15, 2007 Health office's patak polio drive nets 1,700 kids
THE patak polio campaign initiated by the City Health Office in the Rio Hondo-Mariki area has yielded 1, 700 beneficiaries, a figure that is almost triple the target number of patients.
City Health Officer Rodelin Agbulos said the campaign exceeded its target of 600 patients mostly aged 0 to 5 years coming from the Muslim-dominated barangay of Rio Hondo-Marki and the neighboring areas.
"This will have to continue in other barangays and our health centers are opened every Wednesday, which has been designated as immunization day," Dr. Agbulos said.
The CHO has expressed concern on the possible spread of the polio virus after it was learned that 3 out of the 17 cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) discovered in the region were from Rio Hondo.
All of the Rio Hondo AFP patients had zero doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) while the other cases coming from other parts of the region had only one or two doses of OPV. A patient has to undergo the three OPV doses in order to be totally immune from the polio virus.
"We hope to complete the OPV doses of all children through our health centers and prevent the entry of the poliomyelitis virus in the city," the city health officer pointed out.
The Department of Health with the assistance of the World Health Organization has launched a massive polio patak campaign few years ago, but while it appears successful, there are still risks that the disease will hit again if the country's ports of entry are not monitored. Other countries like Africa and India continue to report polio cases.
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a highly contagious disease that can lead to paralysis or death. It has three kinds - non-paralytic, paralytic (flaccid paralysis) and one that causes loss of breath and kills the victim in a matter of minutes. (SE)
