A NINE-YEAR old girl from Basilan has been confirmed to be the latest person to have polio, bringing the national total to eight, of which six are within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the Department of Health (DoH) reported on Monday. The DoH said samples from the latest patient sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the National Institute of Infectious Diseases–Japan tested positive for the polio virus. Of the first seven cases, there were one each in Lanao del Sur and Cotabato City, and three in Maguindanao, all BARMM areas. The two others were in Sultan Kudarat and Laguna. The DoH reported the 1st polio case in September after the country has been free from the disease for almost two decades. A nationwide polio vaccination campaign has been launched, and the second round started on Monday, with a goal of covering the entire Mindanao islands. — Gillian M. Cortez
