Sabah govt views seriously re-emergence of polio, says Shafie

KOTA KINABALU, Dec 9 — The Sabah government views seriously the re-emergence of polio in the state, the first for the country after almost 30 years, and will do its level best to ensure that it will not spread, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said.

He said the re-emergence of the disease is not something that should be taken lightly.

Hence, he said he had instructed the state’s Ministry of Health and People’s Wellbeing to take necessary action to address the situation.

“They will give me a complete report on this and, so far, I was made to understand that the case has been handled well to ensure that the disease will not spread.

“I hope that all parents will ensure that proper vaccines are given to their newborn children,” he told a press conference after attending the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Talk with Sabah State Government programme here today.

Yesterday, the Health Ministry announced that a three-month-old baby boy from Tuaran, Sabah was confirmed to have contracted polio, 27 years since the disease was eradicated from the country.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the baby had fever followed by weakness in the limbs and had been admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital before being diagnosed with vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (VDPV1) on Friday (December 6).

According to him, the infant was still being treated in an isolation ward and was in stable condition but still needed breathing aid. — Bernama