The Health | jan/Feb, 2020
08
Issue: Polio Outbreak
Eradicating the eradicated
What, when, why and how polio is among us again, after 27 years we have been free from it
O
n Dec 8 last year, Malaysians
were shook by the announce-
ment that polio was back. It
was reported that a three-
month-old boy from Tuaran,
Sabah, was found to be
infected by the poliovirus.
The report from the Ministry on Dec 15
said that the baby was being treated in iso-
lation at the hospital, where he is in stable
condition.
What came back
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a viral disease, usu-
ally affects children below five years.
It is spread by direct contact, primar-
ily through the faecal-oral route and less
often, through contaminated water or
food leading to multiplication of the virus
in the intestines. The virus attacks the
nervous system and causes irreversible
paralysis, usually of the legs, in one in 200
infections.
Of those paralysed, 5-10 per cent die when
their breathing muscles are affected.
There are three types of wild
polio (I, 2 and 3)
According to the World Health Organisation
(WHO), there was global eradication of the
type 2 virus in 1999 and no case of type
3 reported since the last reported case in
Nigeria in 2012.
WHO announced that the case in
Sabah is a “rare strain of poliovirus called
circulating vaccine-derived polio (cVDPV)
Type 1. These polio viruses only occur if a
population is seriously under-immunised.
The Sabah polio case is genetically linked
to the ongoing poliovirus circulation in the
southern Philippines.”
Why and how it came back
It was reported that there was a recent out-
break of polio in The Philippines prior (two
months) to the report in Malaysia. And the
unsanitary condition reported in Tuaran,
coupled with the numerous undocumented
persons said to not been immunised, was the
cause of the infection.
No new infections after
The most recent report by the Ministry of
Health said that no new infections other
than the three-month-old boy has since been
detected. And the MoH had listed the preven-
tative measures they had taken to contain any
possible spread.
The world’s progress in fighting polio might be one of the best-kept secrets in global health, according to Bill Gates,
Co-Founder and Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Their efforts include:
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham
Abdullah, Director
General of Health for
the Ministry of Health
implores parents to
always be vigilant
and immunise their
children as provided
through the National
Immunisation
Programme.
• Detection programme was done to iden-
tify Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) which
shows similar symptoms to poliomyelitis
(and can be a proxy to poliomyelitis) in
and around the afflicted area. About 1553
people were screened, with no one show-
ing signs of AFP.
• The monitoring of the existence of the
poliovirus in six selected water treatment
centres in Sabah. As of now, no wild polio-
virus nor the vaccine-derived (VDPV) were
found in the samples taken.
• Immunisation from polio was done to the
children of the undocumented persons in
the area. As of Dec 14, 59 children aged
two to 15 years old was immunised. All of
the children are not of Malaysian citizens.
• To make sure no possible spread of polio
occurs in Sabah, additional vaccination are
to be given to children under the age of
five in the state in stages. Plans for the
programme is in discussion and will be
dispatched as soon as possible.
• All healthcare facilities are directed to
monitor any AFP cases as well as to screen
for poliovirus infections.
The MoH had made urgent communication
to WHO to receive the latest information on
polio globally.
A partnership was also established between
MoH and the United Nations Children’s Fund
by UNICEF to assist in getting polio vaccines
for the non-Malaysians in Sabah at a lower
cost.
Lastly, MoH had strengthened its relation-
ship with the government of The Philippines
in the effort to support Filipinos living in
Sabah. — The Health
Immunisation from polio was done to the
children of the undocumented persons in
the area. As of Dec 14, 59 children aged
two to 15 years old was immunised. All of
the children are not of Malaysian citizens.
Immunisation
is the only
way to be safe
from polio
AT this point in time, we are well-
informed enough about polio and the
severity it poses. Social media was
taken over by the ‘Iron Lung’ story min-
utes after the polio case was reported in
Sabah. Adding the pictures of how polio
can do to our legs and body, it should
be enough for us to not want it for our
children.
The Ministry of Health informs us
that the best way to prevent polio is
through immunisation. There is cur-
rently no treatment for people already
infected and affected by polio, but
vaccines can protect us from it.
Parents are implored to be vigilant
with their children. Any indication that
their children have not been vaccinated
for polio should do so immediately by
going through any
of the govern-
ment clinics.
Vaccination for
Malaysians
are free of
charge.