AKLAN – Nearly 2,000 children successfully received the measles-rubella and oral polio vaccines in the province as of Wednesday, May 3.
For measles-rubella, 2,062 children, aged nine months to 59 months, were inoculated.
This is the breakdown per municipality: Banga (285), Altavas (176), New Washington (316), Libacao (168), Kalibo (474), Madalag (101), Balete (143), Lezo (66), Makato (103), Ibajay (138), Batan (82), and Malay (10).
For oral polio, 901 children, aged zero to 59 months, received the vaccine.
This is the breakdown per municipality: New Washington (365), Altavas (195), Libacao (202), Madalag (105), and Malay (33).
The Aklan Provincial Health Office had a measles-rubella and oral polio vaccine supplemental immunization activity (MR-OPV SIA) on Monday in New Washington town. But the provincial launch was on Wednesday in Barangay Poblacion, Numancia.
Gov. Jose Enrique ‘Joen’ Miraflores and Vice Gov. Reynaldo ‘Boy’ Quimpo led the launch and encouraged parents or guardians with children aged zero to 59 months to have their children vaccinated.
The MR-OPV SIA is a nationwide program spearheaded by the Department of Health and dubbed “Chikiting Ligtas sa dagdag bakuna kontra polio, rubella at tigdas”, in cooperation with Healthy Pilipinas, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and the World Health Organization.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. Its virus is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth, or throat of infected persons.
Initial symptoms, which usually appear between 10 and 12 days after infection, include a 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 downward.
Persons exhibiting symptoms must immediately seek treatment.
Meanwhile, polio is an illness caused by a virus that mainly affects nerves in the spinal cord or brain stem, according to the Mayo Clinic. In its most severe form, polio can lead to a person being unable to move certain limbs or paralysis. It can also lead to troubled breathing and sometimes death. The disease is also called poliomyelitis.
Most people infected with the virus that causes polio, called poliovirus, don’t get symptoms. About five percent of people with the poliovirus get a mild version of the disease called abortive poliomyelitis. This leads to flu-like symptoms that last two to three days. These include fever, headache, muscle aches, sore throat, stomachache, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting./PN