By Joseph Jubelag GENERAL SANTOS CITY- The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the resurgence of polio in the country which had been declared polio-free two decades ago. WHO public health specialist volunteer Etnet Abie Abtew administers the oral polio vaccine into a child in General City during the kick-off Monday of the two-week anti-polio immunization campaign in Mindanao (Photo via Joseph Jubelag) Etnet Abie Abtew, WHO public health specialist volunteer, said the WHO is closely coordinating with local health authorities to contain the polio outbreak which has resulted in at least seven polio cases across Mindanao. Abtew joined personnel of the Department of Health (DOH) who launched the kick-off ceremony for the anti-polio immunization campaign across the Mindanao region. He said the WHO is providing technical assistance to DOH in the two-week anti-polio immunization campaign in Mindanao. “Even a single polio case is already considered an outbreak, hence local health authorities should intensify the anti-polio immunization campaign,” Abtew said. He said the polio vaccination drive is the effective means to contain the polio outbreak. City health officer Rochelle Oco said local health personnel are aiming to vaccinate some 75,000 children aged 0-59 months over the next two weeks. “Our polio vaccine team will conduct a house-to-house immunization campaign in the 26 barangays of the city,” Oco said. She also allayed fears of parents who expressed apprehension over possible negative effects of the polio vaccine similar to that of the Dengvaxia vaccine.