New polio cases reported in Madang and EHP

National

THE HEALTH Department has reported two new cases of polio in Madang and Eastern Highlands, bringing the total to six cases.
In a statement on Saturday, the department said the Madang case was of a four-year-old boy who had an onset of paralysis on July 11.
The case in Eastern Highlands, on the other hand, is a two-year-old boy who had weakness on both his legs that started on June 23.
The confirmation was made on Friday by the Victorian Infection Disease Reference Laboratory, a World Health Organisation Polio Regional Reference Laboratory in Australia.
The identification of the cases highlights the risk of polio in children under five years old.
Polio cases reported in the country over the last two months: two in Morobe, two in Eastern Highlands, one in Enga and one in Madang. The second round of polio campaign started last Monday and will end on Sunday.
A nationwide campaign was planned for next two months targeting 1,265,000 children under the age of five.