Minister for Health Mr. Elias Kapavore is sounding an alert to residents of both Port Moresby and Lae cities to take care of their health after announcing today of the detection of Polio virus type 2 in both these major cities in the country. Having said that, he assured that the situation is being closely assessed in collaboration with their partners, including WHO, UNICEF and the Australian Government. He said, the department’s immediate priority is to review all available information, strengthen surveillance activities, and ensure that any necessary public health is prepared and ready to be implemented. “We were declared a polio free nation in 2000 but unfortunately, the environmental samples collected in Lae and in NCD have indicated a polio virus presence in our country. It’s a serious concern with the department and we are working closely with WHO, DFAT and our partners to address this matter.” Minister Kapavore said his department will inform the Prime Minister and they have a team that is in place with serval meetings already conducted on how to address this matter appropriately going forward. He added that the main contributing factor to the re-emergence of such diseases and virus outbreaks like polio is due to low coverage of routine immunization in the country. He stressed that it’s not just the department and health workers' job, but the responsibility also falls on the parents and guardians. “It’s a big concern to us and we are dealing with our partners to escalate the immunization coverage to identify the hot spot areas to make sure they will deliver.” Minister Kapavore made a strong call to health workers and parents to do their designated roles. “Routine immunization programs are a must for every Provincial Health Authority (PHA). From the district level down to the health centers, they have health workers and nurses are there to do their job," said the Health Minister. "They have enough resources and the cold-chain equipment and there are no issues with vaccines availability in many of our health facilities. The staff must continue to conduct coverage and awareness in their respective fields. Sometimes the health workers are doing their job, but the parents and mothers need to bring their babies for routine immunization. Its everyone’s responsibility.” He further stated that the samples were collected from the sewerage system through wastewater, but no cases have been reported yet. Once the first clinical case is reported, it will be announced as an outbreak, but for now, the department is working to eliminate the virus where kids aged from 5-to-0 are at risk of contracting the virus.