DOH: LGUs key to success of immunization drive vs measles

Hand in hand is the way to do it.

The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said the cooperation of local government units (LGUs) is vital to ensuring the immunization of all children aged 11 months to nine years against the measles.

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said the support of LGUs will make the difference between success and failure in the nationwide immunization drive, since the logistical resources of local health offices was devolved and put under the supervision and management of all LGUs.

The DOH is spearheading a five-day door-to-door free immunization campaign from June 25 to 31 in Metro Manila to stop the surge in measles cases in the metropolis.

It was learned that the rise in measles cases could have been caused by the recent drop in the number of children who underwent routine immunization for the disease.

DOH figures showed that at the San Lazaro Hospital alone, 1,329 children were admitted for the measles, a figure that is 40 percent lower than the number of measles cases treated by the hospital during the same period last year. However, the DOH reported 68 measles-related deaths.

Dayrit advised all parents of children aged 11 months to nine years to bring their children to the nearest hospital or health center for the free, routine measles vaccination.

"There is no treatment for the measles. Vaccination is the single most effective method of combating the measles and its complications," Dayrit said. Like any viral infection, the measles must run its course and medications prescribed for those ill with the measles can only relieve the symptoms of the disease, such as coughing, conjunctivitis (sore eyes), skin rashes, headaches, high fever for three or more days and respiratory tract congestion. Medical experts say that viral infections cannot be cut short or cured, as is possible with bacterial or fungal infections.

Measles is an acute viral infection that is highly-contagious common among very young children. In third-world countries like the Philippines, the measles may result in debilitating complications like blindness, pneumonia, encephalitis, diarrhea, Subacute Sclerosing Panencephalitis (SSPE) and death. In the case of SSPE, a person infected with the measles who suffers from this complication may be rendered bedridden for life.

Dayrit said patients suffering from the measles should be kept in a well-ventilated room and should be given enough fluids to prevent dehydration. He also advised caregivers to give measles patients vitamin A drops, sponge baths and paracetamol to lower fever. Children with fever should rest and be kept away from crowded places, such as malls, parks and schools, to prevent the transmission of the disease through the air or direct contact.

The DOH aims to immunize at least 90 percent of children aged 11 months to nine years nationwide to reduce the pool of people susceptible to the measles and bring down the number of deaths caused by this disease.

However, the DOH is bracing for a rise in measles cases this year because of the low immunization rate last year. It will also be recalled that the low immunization rate was also blamed for the appearance of three polio cases last year, after several polio-free years were made possible by the annual, aggressive child immunization drives of former Health Secretary Juan Flavier.

Now, DOH child morbidity statistics show that there is a need for two-leg national immunization days to make sure the Philippines keeps the polio-free status awarded by the World Health Organization in 2000.

Dayrit said the rise in measles cases was caused in part by a shortfall in the vaccine supply due to changes in the DOH’s procurement procedures for vaccines.

Meanwhile, Senator Teresa Aquino Oreta said the resurgence of measles cases should "prompt the government to refocus its budgetary priorities to significantly increase spending on primary health care."

Oreta advocates higher government spending on public health to help the Philippines eradicate "baby killers," diseases like dengue fever, malaria, the measles, polio and other common but deadly ailments that are preventable through vaccination.

"On top of the immunization drive, the DOH must also launch a wide-scale information campaign for educating the public, especially those in poor communities, about the dangers (posed to their children by the) measles," Oreta said. She added that "beyond these immediate measures, Malacañang should address the DOH problem in the long haul by substantially increasing spending for public health and beefing up government programs on preventive health care."

Oreta also deplored the "anemic" budget for health care and other basic social services. Citing independent studies, the senator said available funding for social services is likely to fall short by P86 million to P176 billion between 2002 and 2015. Should this happen, the government would fail to meet its commitments under the 20-20 Initiative is signed during the World Summit on Development in Copenhagen in 1995.

Official data from the National Statistical Coordinating Board (NSCB) shows that public spending on health care remains inadequate, with annual expenditures growing at an average of only 14.8 percent from P35.9 billion in 1991 to P108.3 billion in 1999 meaning that at the least, only P478.67 is allotted annually per Filipino by the government for health care.