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Manila, Philippines – In the Philippines, health officials are mobilizing to contain a deadly outbreak of measles that the government blames for a sharp drop in the number of vaccinations after a scandal surrounding a dengue vaccine.
More than 70 people – mostly children – have died of measles throughout the country since January, with a high concentration of cases in the capital, Manila, and in surrounding provinces.
According to the Ministry of Health, more than 4,300 people have contracted this highly contagious disease this year, an increase of 122% over the previous year.
Many of the affected people are from poor families who depend on public health services for care and medicine, both of which the government is now facing.
In downtown Manila, San Lazaro Hospital, run by the government, is full of measles patients, while doctors say that they are stepping up preparations for more admissions.
In communities and villages, health workers have urged parents reluctant to vaccinate their children against measles and other diseases such as polio, diphtheria, hepatitis and influenza.
Over the past year, fewer and fewer parents have used free basic immunizations from the government, fearing that these vaccines will harm their children.
Health officials said immunization rates fell from 85 percent to 60 percent, and even 30 percent in some communities.
As a result, according to experts, many children have been left vulnerable to measles, as unvaccinated adults are also at risk of contagion.
Vaccine & drama & # 39;
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III blamed lower vaccination rates for fear, he said, caused by the prosecutor's office, especially his senior lawyer, Persida Acosta, who is investigating a vaccination campaign public against dengue in 2016. and 2017.
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Measles, a contagious disease, killed an estimated 110,000 people in 2017, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The vast majority were children under five years old. The disease begins as a cold, progressing to high fever and worsening of symptoms. It is contagious by direct contact and is suspended in the air. Once it infects the airways, it spreads quickly throughout the body. In a few days, rashes appear on the face and neck until completely covered the infected person. The WHO says that deaths are due to complications of the disease, such as encephalitis (an infection that causes swelling of the brain), diarrhea, dehydration, ear infections or serious respiratory infections. WHO research has shown that Southeast Asia has more cases of measles than anywhere else in the world. In 2017, there were 107,292 suspected cases in Southeast Asia. The figure fell to about 83,000 suspected cases the following year. |
Acosta insisted that the vaccine used, Dengvaxia, had killed dozens of children, although parallel investigations had not reached the same conclusion.
The Chief Attorney played an important role in the Senate and House of Representatives' Dengvaxia television surveys, showing relatives of the alleged victims and claiming that the autopsies carried out by her office had revealed that the deaths were linked "probably" to the vaccine.
The public appearances of Acosta were characterized by emotional outbursts, drawing criticism from other officials who described his behavior as "hysterical".
The controversy began in November 2017, when dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur announced that the vaccine may not be effective in some cases and lead to serious dengue infections in people who have never been reached. of the disease.
At the time, more than 700,000 people, mostly schoolchildren, had already received at least one dose of Dengvaxia as part of a $ 67 million government project to eliminate dengue fever. one of the most common and deadly diseases in Filipino children.
Since then, the Ministry of Justice has prosecuted for negligence and corruption against former President Benigno Aquino, two of his secretaries of cabinet and several other officials of the Dengvaxie vaccination program.
The Acosta office has laid separate charges, notably against Duque, who had taken up the post of Health Secretary a month before the announcement of Sanofi Pasteur and who had suspended the Dengvaxia project in December 2017.
Duque called the accusations "malicious and unfounded".
"The fright due to Dengvaxia, all this drama they were doing, really undermined the integrity and efficiency of the Ministry of Health," Duque told reporters, referring to the prosecutor's office.
"Politically motivated witch hunt"
Acosta denied responsibility for the vaccine-related panic, saying it was "unfair" to blame her and her office.
"They should perhaps be wondering if they have not campaigned for safe vaccines like the one against measles," said Acosta, referring to Duque and other officials of the health.
Salvador Panelo, spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte, defended Acosta, saying that she "was just doing her job" by badembling the alleged victims of Dengvaxia to lay charges.
Panelo, however, also confirmed Duque's opinion that the Dengvaxia case had caused the panic caused by the vaccination that had led to the measles outbreak.
In response, Duterte called on health officials to redouble efforts to vaccinate children, urging parents to avail themselves of free basic vaccines available at public health centers.
Opposition members allied with former president Aquino have criticized Acosta and accused him of using the Dengvaxia business to discredit Duterte's political opponents, including the 2016 election campaign. took advantage of the public's disillusionment with the Aquino government.
"Our country's immunization program is now facing a dilemma and the health of our children is threatened by the panic caused by the vaccine panic caused by the fact that Acosta was supposed to be in the good graces of Duterte", said Senator Leila De Lima, imprisoned for using drugs as a result of her investigation. in the murders in Duterte's war on drugs.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, who headed the health committee, asked Acosta to resign.
"She was standing near the tombs of poor and dead children to wage a vicious campaign of misinformation, pseudo-science and politically motivated witch hunts", Said Hontiveros.
"His lies and hysterical reactions have directly contributed to the erosion of public confidence in our immunization programs."
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