[caption id='attachment_630248' width='120'] MARIT STINUS-CABUGON[/caption]

RECENTLY, it was found that there is circulating in the Butuanon River in Mandaue City the vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone considering that the river has been a dump for both industrial and household wastes for decades. Nevertheless, the presence of poliovirus has got everyone worried. Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes immediately declared Butuanon River and two other waterways that traverse the city off-limits. Families and individuals who are living along Butuanon will be relocated. The City Health Office has sent stool samples to the Department of Health (DoH) in order to locate the source of the poliovirus.