Health

Alert! This Causes Sudden Polio to Occur

The sudden polio case that occurred in Aceh was designated as an extraordinary event (KLB) by the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes). In fact, the Ministry of Health has issued a circular as a guideline for health workers.

Humas Kota Bandung Thursday, 24 November 2022 12:58
Ilustrasi polio,penyebab polio, gejala polio, imunisasi polio. (sumber : Shutterstock/Dan76)
Ilustrasi polio,penyebab polio, gejala polio, imunisasi polio. (sumber : Shutterstock/Dan76)

The Head of the Bandung City Health Service (Dinkes), Anhar Hadian, said that the circular was divided into two, namely for Aceh and outside Aceh.

"For outside Aceh, the action that must be taken is to strengthen surveillance tracing of Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) or commonly known as sudden paralysis that occurs at the age of under 15 years," explained Anhar.

AFP surveillance is an observation of all cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in children under 15 years of age who are a vulnerable group to polio.

Therefore, he appealed to the people of Bandung City to immediately report to the nearest health center if they find similar cases happening in their surroundings.

"If the community finds anyone whose legs suddenly go limp and are paralyzed not because of violence or an accident, report them immediately to the puskesmas. We will take action to take samples of acute paralysis," he said

This is because the results of tracing surveillance that the central government has asked to continue to strengthen are highly dependent on how far the public is willing to report sudden polio cases.

Then, the next effort is to strengthen polio immunization. He added, for all people to immediately complete their child's polio vaccination immunization.

"If the vaccination is complete, group immunity is formed. So, even if the polio virus enters the body there will be no problem," he said.

This is because polio is a disease whose transmission is faecal-oral, through faeces entering the mouth. Fecal-oral transmission can occur if the community's environmental conditions are not good, such as lots of trash and flies.

"It could also be because the dirt is thrown away carelessly. The flies land in the dirt and then move to the food. Or wash your hands without using soap if you want to eat," he said.

He emphasized that the habit of washing hands or a clean and healthy lifestyle (PHBS) not only prevents Covid-19, but also prevents polio. At least use hand sanitizer before doing activities.

For sudden polio cases like in Aceh, Anhar ensures that there are no similar cases in the city of Bandung. Because AFP surveillance in Bandung City is relatively tight.

"Actually, Indonesia has been declared polio-free. Evidence of polio-free can be seen from the absence of cases and active surveillance tracing. The vulnerable age for polio is under 15 years," he added. (din)**


Head of the Bandung City Communication and Informatics Agency


Yayan A. Brilyana