ILOILO – Amid the gradual increase in dengue cases and the emergence of Japanese encephalitis in the province, the provincial government has no plans to purchase vaccines against these mosquito-borne diseases.
There is no fund for that in this year’s annual budget, said Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, chief of the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO).
“Wala na sia sa aton nga plano (it was not part of the IPHO’s plans). Wala kita pondo (we had no funds) allocated for dengue and Japanese encephalitis vaccines,” Quiñon told members of the media.
Buying dengue and Japanese encephalitis vaccines is a complex process, she added, because it needs to go through the Department of Health (DOH) central office to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, just like the vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019.
“Although this is used worldwide, we have to determine which of the vaccines that will be used in the Philippines has gone through a thorough evaluation,” she added.
A few years back, Quiñon said, DOH was set to roll out vaccines for Japanese encephalitis in the province since the virus is endemic. However, it did not push through because of the Dengvaxia issue.
She also said there were private practicing physicians in the city and province who offer the Japanese encephalitis vaccine but that it could be “costly”.
Japanese encephalitis vaccines are given to children aged nine months as the first dose, followed by a second dose a year later.
Without the vaccines, Quiñon said the IPHO highlights the provincial government’s campaign on disease prevention, where the public is urged to practice the 4S strategy: search and destroy mosquito breeding sites; self-protection measures like wearing trousers and long-sleeved shirts and daily use of mosquito repellent; seek early treatment; and support fogging/spraying only in hotspot areas.
“We want to stop it [Japanese encephalitis] because it is quite deadly, as deadly as dengue with a high case fatality rate of 30 to 50 percent and may result in complications,” Quiñon added in Hiligaynon.
This Tuesday, June 27, the IPHO, together with the Philippine Pediatrics Society, Infectious Specialists from the DOH-6, all municipal health officers, and doctors from 13 district hospitals, including the Iloilo Provincial Hospital, will meet to tackle the updated dengue management and their opinion on the Japanese encephalitis vaccine.
As of June 3 this year, the province had 14 cases of Japanese encephalitis with four deaths.
As of June 10, Iloilo had 571 dengue cases with one death — seven percent higher than the 535 cases with six deaths recorded in the same period last year.
Quiñon clarified that Japanese encephalitis cases in the province were mostly recorded in the first quarter of the year. So far, no new cases have been reported in the second quarter.
Japanese encephalitis is caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), which can be transmitted through bites from mosquitoes called Culex tritaeniorhynchus that live in rural or agricultural areas such as rice-growing and pig-farming regions.
Most people who get infected experience mild or no symptoms. In people who develop severe disease, early symptoms include fever, headache and vomiting. These symptoms may be followed by disorientation, coma, and seizures. Seizures are more common in children.
Meanwhile, dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that causes a severe flu-like illness that can sometimes be fatal. Its carriers are day-biting mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti) that live and breed in clean, stagnant water.
According to the World Health Organization, individuals should suspect dengue when a high fever (40 degrees centigrade) is accompanied by two of the following symptoms: severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands, muscle and joint pains, and rashes.
The warning signs for severe dengue are severe abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, rapid breathing, bleeding gums, blood in the vomit, fatigue, and restlessness./PN
