Health Ministry: 1st polio case in Malaysia after 27 years
PUCHONG: Health Ministry has confirmed a three months year old baby boy in Tuaran, Sabah has been infected by polio.
The ministry director general Datuk Noor Hisham Abdullah said the baby had been confirmed infected with vaccine derived poliovirus type 1 (VDPV1) after being placed in hospital intensive care unit (ICU0) two days ago with fever and weakend limb.
“Test by World Health Organization (WHO) in Australia show VDPV1 has a genetic link with polio virus detected in Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) cases in the Phillippines.
“It is the first polio case detected in the country after Malaysia had been freed from the disease in 27 years,” he said in a statement.
Hisham said investigations, until three days ago, held at where the boy lived showed 23 from 199 people aged between two months until 15 years old is not immunised by the polio vaccine.
“Investigation is still ongoing but there were no AFP cases detected so far.
“The virus infection can only be stopped if the people are vaccinated,” he said.
By Irman Hashim
