Jiwaka reports two suspected polio cases during immunization drive

The Jiwaka Provincial Health Authority [PHA] has reported two cases showing symptoms of polio during the ongoing Polio Supplementary Immunization Activity [SIA].

Public Health Director Sister Kolly Bang told NBC Online that health workers collected samples from the two cases and sent them to the Central Public Health Laboratory in Port Moresby on Tuesday this week.

She said an Australian medical laboratory will test the samples and return the results to the National Department of Health [NDoH], which will then share them with the province within a month.

Sister Bang withheld the names of the locations where the cases were detected, explaining that revealing them could disrupt the vaccination program.

Meanwhile, after five days of the immunization campaign, Jiwaka PHA has recorded a 49 percent increase in vaccinations for children under 10 years old. So far, health workers have vaccinated 55,537 children out of the targeted 112,893.