WHO finds polio case in Enga

THE Health Department and World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday announced a case of polio in a three-year-old boy from Mulitaka in the Laigam district of Enga.
The case is the third confirmed one in the country, following two cases from Lae in June and July.
The confirmation was made on Friday by the Victorian Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory – a WHO collaborating centre in Australia.
The boy had an onset of symptoms on June 30 and paralysis on July 2.
His vaccination history is unknown due to unavailability of the baby’s clinic book, and his travel history is being established.
Results from the global polio laboratory in the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the new case is genetically linked to the other two cases from Morobe.
According to Health Secretary Pascoe Kase: “The detection of the case is a result of our enhanced surveillance system put in place in all provinces in response to the confirmed polio cases in Morobe province.
“A joint NDOH and WHO team is currently in the field to conduct an epidemiological investigation. “Confirmation of this case in Enga highlights that the outbreak has
spread geographically, and this is a concern.