Minsa issues epidemiological alert after confirming the country’s first polio case in 32 years

The Ministry of Health issued an epidemiological alert on Wednesday after the first case was confirmed. polio acute in the country after 32 years. The victim is a one-year-old child from Loreto whose guardians refused to allow the minor to receive the appropriate vaccine.

The aim of this measure is to “intensify active case finding, as well as the implementation of preventive and control measures to mitigate the consequences of damage to the health of the population in the country” in connection with a disease that has not been reported since 1991.

Cesar Munaikodirector of the Minsa National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Control of Diseases, said RPP news that the child was first treated for a respiratory illness, then He was hospitalized and later developed weakness in his lower limbs. That is why, according to the protocol, it was decided to take a sample to exclude diseases such as polio, Guillain-Barré or other pathologies.

“After that, the sample was sent to Brazil, and they told us yesterday that the result came out, that it was a poliovirus derived from a type 1 vaccine, but the investigation still needs to be done, because this is a whole investigation process that is done in order to be able to it was good to define what it was about,” he said.

Munaiko commented that an interdisciplinary team has already been sent to the area and conducted an investigation, which consists of identifying the places where the child has travelled, looking for cases in the area and continuing to vaccinate to ensure there are no more cases.

The specialist emphasized the importance of vaccination (5 recommended doses) to prevent this disease, which in severe cases can cause paralysis and make children disabled. However, he expressed regret that in some areas there are families who oppose vaccination due to the misconception that immunization is harmful and can cause disease.

“This is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health”

The dean of the Medical College of Peru, Raul Urquiso Arestegui, told RPP Noticias that his institution had alerted the health ministry to increase polio vaccination coverage.

“We as the College of Medicine have raised the importance of increasing coverage and changing strategy. The sacrifice nurses make to carry vaccines even on holidays is not enough if there is no response from both the population and the way to get there. population,” he said.

Urquiso stressed that they reported Ministry of Health that they are responsible for preventing the re-entry of polio into the country.

“We have 3 countries with a red card: Peru, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. If there is a first case of polio, that is the responsibility of the ministry,” Urquiso said.