Immunization campaign in the Philippines after a resurgence of polio

Manila (AFP)

The Philippines on Monday launched a government campaign to vaccinate millions of children against polio, which re-emerged in September for the first time since 2001.

Parents with sleeping children have queued at dawn in this country marked for several years by a decline in vaccination rates and a controversy over a dengue vaccine.

"It's for the sake of my child," AFP told a Manila slum Ruth Miranda slum after oral administration of the vaccine.

Around the vaccination center, the atmosphere is festive, with ice cream vendors and music. But the stakes are high.

In this capital of about 13 million people, vaccination rates for young children have dropped from 77% in 2016 to just 24% last June.

Already hit in early 2019 by measles and dengue epidemics that left more than 1,000 dead, the Philippines detected two cases of polio in September, the first since 2001, when three cases were reported.

Due to low immunization coverage in the country, the World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern after the resurgence of this contagious disease that can lead to paralysis and even death.

This year's cases, like those of 2001, are indeed linked to viruses derived from vaccine strains. This attenuated form becomes more dangerous after a mutation that occurs when vaccination coverage is low and gives the virus the chance to multiply, according to the WHO.

Confidence in immunization had dropped in the Philippines after controversy over a dengue vaccine, going from 93% in 2015 to 32% in 2018, according to a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

In 2016, the Philippines was the first country to use Dengvaxia, the world's first dengue vaccine, as part of an experimental program involving hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren.

But controversy arose after the revelation a year later by the vaccine manufacturer, the French pharmaceutical group Sanofi, that this vaccine could worsen the symptoms in people previously uninfected by the virus. The vaccination program was interrupted and the vaccine banned.

© 2019 AFP