Sungailiat, Babel (ANTARA) – The Bangka Regency Health Bureau of Bangka Belitung Island Province has confirmed that there have been no cases of polio in children in the area.
Bangka district health bureau chief Dr. Then Suyanti in Sungailiat said on Thursday that his party has not found any polio cases either through community reports or through treatment services at health centres.
“I ask the community if they know a child suspected of having polio to immediately report it to the nearest health center because polio is quite easy to detect, which is characterized by the condition of the child being weak in the legs or paralyzed withered.” He explained.
According to him, reports from the public will be the basis for his team going to the field to collect samples for examination at Health Research and Development (Litbangkes).
He said if only one case of polio is found in an area, then that area could be declared an Extraordinary Event (KLB).
As a preventative measure, Poi said, that is by carrying out comprehensive basic vaccinations for children to avoid various diseases including polio.
“We must pursue comprehensive immunization. Parents or people who have children or young children are advised to pay attention to immunization,” he said.
It assessed that there have been cases of polio in several regions of Indonesia, due to delays in basic comprehensive immunization services that have occurred for nearly two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s also possible that this virus entered from the outside, causing several children to get polio,” he said.
He said the polio case was caused by a virus, could be contagious and would also have a long-term impact on children who were exposed to it.
“The physical characteristics of polio cases that you can see are withered paralysis, and in general it has a long impact, i.e. paralysis forever,” he said.
It is known that cases of polio have been recurring in Indonesia, particularly in Pidie Aceh district, so that the polio hotspot area has been designated by the Indonesian Ministry of Health. And so far, four cases of polio have been found in the area.
Polio is a neurological disease that can cause permanent paralysis. Polio is spread through contaminated water and food or through contact with an infected person.
