ILOILO City – Recording 20 suspected measles cases each day since declaring an outbreak last week, the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas is poised to conduct a house-to-house vaccination campaign. Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. It remains a major cause of death among young children despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.
DOH Region 6 has sought the help of the regional offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Education (DepEd) for the door-to-door and school-based measles immunization.
“The measles virus is very transmissible. One person positive of it may infect 20 others or even more,” said Dr. Mary Jane Juanico, Child Health Program medical coordinator of DOH Region 6.
The measles vaccine, proven to be safe, effective and inexpensive, has been in use since the 1960s. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends immunization for all susceptible children and adults for whom measles vaccination is not contraindicated.
The Health department declared a measles outbreak in Western Visayas on Feb. 7. From Feb. 9 to Feb. 10 it recorded 26 suspected cases, said Juanico.
As of Feb. 10, the total suspected measles cases in the region reached 359 but only 10 have so far been confirmed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine after laboratory analysis of samples from patients.
DOH Region 6 also recorded three suspected measles-related deaths.
Reaching all children with two doses of measles vaccine, either alone, or in a measles-rubella (MR), measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), or measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) combination, should be the standard for all national immunization programmes, according to WHO.
Measles is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons. Initial symptoms, which usually appear 10 to 12 days after infection, include high fever, a runny nose, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth.
Several days later, a rash develops, starting on the face and upper neck and gradually spreading downwards.
The most serious complications include blindness, encephalitis (an infection that causes brain swelling), severe diarrhoea and related dehydration, and severe respiratory infections such as pneumonia.
The province of Negros Occidental has the highest number of suspected cases (144), followed by Antique (101), Bacolod City (54), Iloilo (20), Capiz (15), Aklan (12), and Iloilo (eight).
So far there has been no report of measles cases in the island province of Guimaras.
Juanico said there were six cases from outside Western Visayas, particularly from Negros Oriental, that were detected by DOH Region 6’s disease reporting units.
While global measles deaths have decreased by 84 percent worldwide in recent years — from 550,100 deaths in 2000 to 89,780 in 2016 — WHO said measles is still common in many developing countries, particularly in parts of Africa and Asia.
An estimated seven million people were affected by measles in 2016. The overwhelming majority (more than 95 percent) of measles deaths occur in countries with low per capita incomes and weak health infrastructures, it said.
Persons exhibiting symptoms must immediately seek treatment in public health centers or hospitals, said Juanico.
“Critical gid nga i-isolate ang kaso. Kon may complication like pneumonia or diarrhea kinahanglan gid makadto sa health center or hospital for prompt treatment. Kalabanan nga kaso even sa Manila nagakalamatay tungod sa complication sang tipdas,” she stressed.
She also underscored the importance of hygiene in the household, proper hand-washing and covering of the mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing.
The outbreak could be due to the low coverage of DOH’s measles immunization program in Region 6 last year. Public support to the program may have dipped due to the Dengvaxia anti-dengue vaccine controversy, said Juanico./PN
