THE Department of Health (DOH)-Research Institute for Tropical Medicine recently announced that water samples taken from the Butuanon River that runs through the cities of Cebu and Mandaue tested positive of the poliovirus.
That may sound alarming, but, really, there is no need to panic.
For one thing, the last cases of polio in Cebu were reported in 1993 yet, while Central Visayas was declared polio-free in 2000 and still is to this date.
This was confirmed by John Eddu Ybañez, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes’ executive secretary, and Shelbay Blanco, DOH 7 Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit head, on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020.
It doesn’t mean Mandaue City is taking the news sitting down.
The mayor issued a marching order declaring the city’s waterways-–Butuanon River, Mahiga Creek and the Tipolo River-–off limits to the public.
Cortes asked officials and health workers of barangays along these waterways to discourage or prevent residents from taking a dip in the water.
Ybañez, for his part, called for an emergency meeting of the Butuanon River Management Board to discuss the matter.
It’s important to note that many viral ailments like polio can be prevented by immunizations.
Dr. Van Philip Baton of the DOH-Central Visayas Center for Health Development said they never let up in their polio vaccination campaign even when the region was declared polio-free 20 years ago.
Vaccination creates the body immunity for children against polio.
The agency urged all local government units to focus all efforts on completing polio immunization for all children below five years old.
Baton assured they have enough vaccines for this purpose.
He explained that polio is a viral infection with symptoms of “trankaso” that may lead to acute flaccid paralysis (AFP).
To eradicate the resurging threat, the WHO recommended that countries conduct surveillance for cases of AFP.
Baton urged parents to have their children vaccinated with the complete three doses either in oral or injected polio vaccine.
To those who don’t know, the virus is introduced to the environment in the feces of someone who is infected. It easily spreads from the feces into the water supply, or, by touch, into food in areas with poor sanitation.
It goes without saying then that someone living along the Butuanon River in either the city of Mandaue or Cebu already has the virus. It doesn’t help that most people with polio don’t display any symptoms or become noticeably sick.