The Department of Health 6 is enjoining all sectors of government, non-government organizations, private institutions and other stakeholders to support its mass vaccination campaign against measles, rubella (German measles) and polio to help it reach its target of 95 percent coverage.

The month-long mass vaccination campaign against the three diseases was launched at the Bacolod Arts and Youth Sports Center in Bacolod City Monday and will run until Sept. 30.

Dr. Renilyn Reyes, DOH VI Regional Immunization Officer, said yesterday that despite efforts done, they have not reached the national target. So DOH launched a massive campaign against the three illnesses to be conducted to children 0 to 5 years old and they hope to saturate all the communities.

She said these three diseases are preventable but they are afraid of its complications like blindness, encephalitis or pneumonia.

Children under 5 years old have higher risks, so the immunization focuses on them, she added.

Reyes said that in Western Visayas, there was one death due to measles in Antique. The child died because of pneumonia.

Measles is a viral disease and can affect people even when there is high population immunity. It is not just a childhood illness but can affect adults as well. Even routine immunization cannot halt measles transmission, she said.

Reyes said they will also introduce vaccination for high school students in October, as well as tetanus vaccination.

Dr. Paulyn Ubial, DOH 6 Assistant Secretary of Health, said measles can be transmitted through droplet infection or through direct contact. It is a year round disease and occurs if there are many susceptible persons.

Ubial said older persons have natural immunity against the disease. There were 24,000 deaths from measles before they started immunization in 1996.

In Western Visayas there were 153 cases of measles and one death, she said.

Ubial said their immunization rate for fully immunized child in the whole Philippines is 67 percent which is low. Their mass immunization campaign targets 95 percent.

Reyes said they hope to reach 11 million children for measles-rubella and 13 children for oral polio. They hope to reach their target by September. If they cannot reach it, the DOH has a back-up plan called map up operation, she also said.

Dr. Ma. Paz Corrales, DOH 6 assistant regional director, said they are partnering with local government units in disseminating information and are asking the help of media in making people aware of the free vaccination.

DOH records showed that there were 22 recorded measles cases in Negros and three in Bacolod this year.

In Bacolod about 330 or 1 percent out of its targeted population have been vaccinated for measles and rubella on the first day of launching, while Negros has 4,361 or 2 percent of its target, records showed.

Councilor Em Ang said that, according to a DOH publication, the deaths due to measles had decreased by more than 70 percent since 2001, because of the efforts of the local and national governments to really campaign for 100 percent coverage of all children who are supposed to be given immunization.

Ang said that in order to eliminate measles, rubella and polio, everyone – the government, non-government organizations, individual citizens with the support of the media – should help in getting the word out that all parents should have their children immunized.

“If their children are showing symptoms of measles they should not be sent to school. That is how we can prevent the spread of these diseases,” she said.

Early this year, there was a declaration of an outbreak in Metro Manila and more than 20 died from measles, Ang said..

“Luckily, there is no incidence in Bacolod and we hope to keep it that way with the cooperation of the city government, the barangays, DepEd, and the media,” she added.*CGS

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