Three more polio cases reported

THREE more polio cases have been confirmed in Morobe, Madang and Enga by the Health Department.
The cases include a four-year-old girl from Markham district in Morobe with paralysis, including muscle pain and weakness in her right leg which started on July 16. The girl has no record of receiving polio vaccine and no history of travelling outside the province.
In Madang, the case was a 22-month-old boy who had an onset of weakness in both legs on July 15. The boy has no record of polio vaccination and no history of travel.
In Enga, a nine-year-old boy has paralysis, including weakness in his right arm and both legs, which started on Aug 2. The boy’s polio vaccination history is unknown and he has travelled within the province and the case is the oldest child confirmed with polio. To date, PNG has confirmed nine polio cases since the announcement of the outbreak in June 2018. There are now three in Morobe, two in Eastern Highlands, two in Enga and two in Madang.
The latest confirmation was made on Friday by the Victorian Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory, a WHO Polio Regional Reference Laboratory in Australia. Further genetic analysis made by the United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that these cases were linked to the ongoing polio outbreak in the country.
The Government declared a public health emergency on June 26 after confirmation that poliovirus was circulating in the country.
A polio vaccination campaign is currently ongoing to vaccinate children under five years old in high-risk provinces of Morobe, Madang, Eastern Highlands, Enga, Chimbu, Southern Highlands, Western Highlands, Jiwaka and Hela.
Vaccination teams are intensifying efforts, particularly in densely populated areas such as settlements, mining communities and areas where there is significant movement of people to ensure that all children are vaccinated and protected against polio.