[ad_1]
MANILA (Reuters) – Health experts on Monday warned of a possible measles epidemic in the Philippines, a long-standing disease fueled by piecemeal vaccination programs and a loss of confidence in vaccines.
Measles cases almost quintupled to 17,300 during the 11-month period ended in November compared to last year, mainly in conflict zones in the south of the country, said doctors and officials of the World Health Organization (WHO).
"We have almost eradicated measles, but we are now witnessing an increase in the number of cases as confidence in vaccines is declining this year," said Lulu Bravo, of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, at the same time. a press conference.
"This is disturbing," she said, blaming the fall in trust for political factors, among other reasons, but without giving more details. "Filipinos become scientifically illiterate."
No deaths from measles were reported in 2014, she said, adding that vaccination efforts in many countries had already halted the disease, such as smallpox. Four children died of measles this year on the southern island of Mindanao.
According to the WHO, only 7% of eligible children in conflict areas in the southern Philippines have been vaccinated against measles this year.
WHO experts said overpopulation in temporary shelters and migration exacerbated the problem, while the rate of vaccine penetration was low.
The conflict destroyed the heart of the city with 200,000 inhabitants, destroying 1,109 people, mainly militants, and displacing 350,000 people, raising concern that the region will become the nerve center of the city. Islamic State in Southeast Asia.
Anna Lisa Ong-Lim, president of the Philippine Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, said that 69% of children with measles this year did not have immunity for reasons such as their parents' refusal.
She said the policy behind the controversial dengue fever vaccine, Dengvaxia, was partly blamed on low confidence in the government's mbad immunization program, with health workers sometimes referred to as "killers" in some areas.
"It is clear that this has affected confidence in vaccines," said Achyut Shrestha, WHO chief, adding that immunization coverage in the Philippines was in the lower part of the region, alongside Laos and of Papua New Guinea.
Last month, an opinion poll conducted by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine revealed that only 1% of the 1,500 Filipinos polled for reliable vaccines were vaccinated, compared with 93% in 2015.
This is the only decline this year in a country in the WHO Western Pacific Region, home to 1.9 billion people in 37 countries.
Report by Manuel Mogato; Edited by Clarence Fernandez
Source link
