A baby from Indonesia – confirmed to be an imported case of vaccine-associated polio – had been taken directly to NUH upon arrival in Singapore and isolated upon admission. -- PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE(The Straits Times/ANN): A five-month-old baby girl from Indonesia who arrived in Singapore on Jan 26 has been confirmed to be an imported case of vaccine-associated polio.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) on Feb 7 confirmed the imported case of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis after the girl was taken here for medical treatment.
MOH said the girl is immunocompromised, which means her immune system is not fighting off infections well enough. She was previously vaccinated with one dose of oral polio vaccine (OPV) and one dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in Indonesia.
She had developed fever, acute floppiness and paralysis of the lower limbs in December 2024 while in Indonesia, but her doctor did not suspect polio then.
On Jan 26, she was medically evacuated for treatment of her symptoms and admitted directly to the National University Hospital (NUH) upon arrival here.
The infant is currently in a stable condition, and there is low risk of community transmission, MOH said.
MOH added that the infant was taken directly to NUH upon landing in Singapore and also isolated upon admission. Proper measures were also taken to prevent further transmission after she was suspected of poliomyelitis infection.
Three close contacts of the infant – family members or caregivers – are currently quarantined as a precautionary measure.
Polio is caused by the poliovirus and can spread through food infected with faecal material.
Vaccination is the most effective protection against polio, alongside maintaining high standards of hygiene and sanitation.
Currently, there are two vaccines for polio: OPV, which contains live attenuated (weakened) poliovirus, and IPV, which does not contain any live poliovirus.
Many countries have progressively switched to IPV, and Singapore stopped using OPV in 2021, MOH said.
Vaccine-associated paralytic polio is extremely rare and occurs only when an individual develops the condition after receiving OPV. The risk is also higher for the immunocompromised, for whom IPV is recommended instead of OPV.
MOH noted that Singapore has not reported any locally acquired cases of polio since 1978, with the last polio case reported in 2006 being an imported one.
Under the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule (NCIS), children receive a total of five vaccine doses – three IPV doses for infants at two months old, four months old and six months old, with another two booster doses of IPV at 18 months old and 10 years old to 11 years old, respectively.
As IPV does not contain live viruses, it carries no risk of vaccine-associated paralytic poliomyelitis, MOH said.
Vaccinations under the NCIS are available for free to all Singaporean children at Community Health Assist Scheme general practitioner clinics and polyclinics, it added. - The Straits Times/ANN
