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UNICEF-WHO Philippines: Polio Outbreak Situation Report #5 (25 October 2019)

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Philippines
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UNICEF
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Highlights

  • One new vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) case has been reported this week, a 4-year old child from Datu Piang, Maguindanao, Mindanao. This is a newly infected province and represents an expansion of the outbreak in Mindanao.

  • Four new environmental samples also tested positive for poliovirus this week: Three samples from Manila for VDPV1, and one sample from Quezon city for VDPV2 pending genetic sequencing.

  • Another child from Maguindanao, a 3-year old from Datu Paglas, was also confirmed with VPDV2 - Synchronized polio vaccination campaigns are ongoing 14-27 October in the National Capital Region (NCR),
    Davao City, Davao del Sur, and Lanao del Sur in response to a polio outbreak declared by the Department of Health (DOH) on 19 September 2019.

  • As of 24 October, almost 1.5 million out of 1.7 million targeted children under 5 have been vaccinated. DOH supported by WHO and UNICEF is analysing coverage data daily and providing additional resources, support and supervision to areas with the highest numbers of missed children.

  • All Regional Health Directors were convened for a Polio Emergency Consultation on 24-25 October to discuss improving Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillance, lessons learned from the current vaccination round and discuss plans for new provinces to be included in the next round - Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) is considered a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

Current Situation

In Mindanao, one 4-year old child from Datu Piang, Maguindanao, Mindanao was confirmed with VDPV type 2 on 24 October 2019. The sample showed 7.3% nucleotide divergence from Sabin vaccine virus and is confirmed to be genetically linked to the previous case from Lanao del Sur.

This is the 2 nd human case categorised as positive for cVDPV2, as the case from Laguna is categorized as positive for immunodeficiency-related VDPV (iVDPV2). A 3 rd child from Maguindano residing in Datu Paglas was confirmed testing positive for VDPV2 on 25 October. It has just been sent for genetic sequencing at the Global Specialized Laboratory National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) in Japan.