Malaysia has recorded its first polio case since the year 1992 last week, and hopefully its not here to stay.

Situation under control

The New Straits Times reported that the polio case was detected in a three-month-old boy from Tuaran, Sabah on Friday (6 December).

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told the daily that the boy was admitted to the hospital with high fever, but was later transferred to the intensive care unit after he was confirmed to have vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (VDPV1).

"The patient is still being treated in the isolation ward and is stable.

"But he still needs help with breathing, we hope the public and the media will not disturb the health personnel in the hospital while their doing their job and treating the disease,” Dr Noor Hisham was quoted as saying, while declining to name the facility the child was at.

He told NST that the VDPV1 virul is from "circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus" - or in layman's term, from the polio virus which has been weakened by the polio vaccine and is disposed from the human body through feces.

He added that in unsanitary surroundings, it can infect others who do not have immunity towards polio and spread in communities where immunisation is under 95 per cent.

"It genetically mutates and becomes active, aggravated by the length of time it spreads in the community. This virus is called VDPV and can cause poliomyelitis.

"Those who have been vaccinated for poliomyelitis will however be protected from infection,” Dr Noor Hisham said.

Experts doing further testing

He said that lab tests by the World Health Organisation (WHO) show that the virus has a genetic affiliation with the polio virus that was traced to the Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) case in the Philippines, and the search for AFP cases was carried out at the child’s residential area.

However, no AFP traces were found in the 646 people who were tested.

Dr Noor Hisham told NST that the ministry is currently taking stool samples from those who were in close contact the toddler.

He also urged the public to get treatment at health facilities if they suffer from AFP symptoms.

In case you're wondering, Malaysia's last polio case was reported in 1992, before the country was declared polio-free in 2000.