The Philippines on September 20 began a campaign to vaccinate millions of children against polio after the disease made a return to the country after nearly two decades.
Secretary of the Department of Health of the Philippines Francisco Duque (centre) joins the vaccination campaign in Manila (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines on September 20 began acampaign to vaccinate millions of children against polio after the disease madea return to the country after nearly two decades.
Addressing the launch of the vaccination campaign in Manila, Secretaryof the Department of Health Francisco Duque urged parents, carers of under-five children, health workers and localgovernments to actively participate in the vaccination campaign to ensurechildren’s health.
According to the Department of Health, the rate of vaccination against polioin Mania dropped to under 24 percent of children in June this year, compared tomore than 77 percent in 2016, which poses a high risk of the return of polio tothe city.
On September 19, the department announced the return of the disease witha confirmed case in Lanao del Sur province. The next day, the department said afive-year-old boy in a province near Manila contracted the virus last month.
The department attributed the return of the disease to the lowvaccination rate, poor waste treatment and environmental hygiene and a laxcontrol of diseases.
Polio is an infectious disease whichspreads rapidly. It can cause paralysis and, on rare occasions, can be fatal.There is no cure for polio. However, it can be prevented with multiple doses ofpolio vaccines that have long been proven safe and effective.
According to WHO statistics, the number of polio infections reduced fromover 350,000 in 1988 to just 33 last year, thanks to countries’ efforts. Atpresent, only three countries (Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan) havenever stopped transmission of polio./.
The Ministry of Health plans to use at least seven types of domestically produced vaccines as part of the expanded national immunisation programme by 2020.
Disease prevention and control is the main duty of the health sector this year, thus the sector will actively conduct preventive measures and provide vaccinations in high-risk areas.
The Department of Health (DoH) of the Philippines announced on September 19 that polio is re-emerging in the country, 19 years after the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Southeast Asian country free of the infectious disease.
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Secretary of the Department of Health of the Philippines Francisco Duque (centre) joins the vaccination campaign in Manila (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
