The Department of Health (DOH) intends to vaccinate at least 90-percent of the high-risk population, especially among children aged six months to 10 years, following a recent spike in the cases of measles, rubella, and pertussis across the country.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said a non-selective Outbreak Response Immunization (ORI) strategy for measles and rubella is being implemented in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
As of Feb. 24, the DOH recorded a total of 569 measles and rubella cases. All regions, except for Bicol and Central Visayas, registered a 3-percent increase. Epidemiologic profile shows that those under five years of age and who are unvaccinated are the most affected.
Measles (“tigdas” in Filipino) is highly contagious. It spreads from infected individuals through the air, especially through coughing or sneezing. It affects all age groups, but is more common in children. Symptoms include high fever, cough, runny nose, and body rash. There is no specific treatment for the virus that causes measles but a vaccine protects against it.
Rubella isn’t the same as measles, but the two illnesses share some signs and symptoms, such as the red rash. It is caused by a different virus and isn’t as infectious or as severe as measles.
The DOH is playing catch-up in its immunization program for vaccine preventable diseases such as measles and pertussis, or whooping cough (, which was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
This aligns with the urgent call of the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF to hasten vaccination programs as Europe also experienced a 30-fold rise in measles cases in 2023. Countries in Europe also registered alarming rates of pertussis, according to the WHO.
Experts surmise that the international lifting of COVID-19 as a public health emergency, which allowed for more mobility among populations returning to schools and workplaces, may have also heightened the transmission of diseases that could have otherwise been prevented by vaccines.
Disruptions in routine immunization at primary care during the pandemic are seen to be the main reason why, for the first 10 weeks of 2024, there already are 453 reported cases of pertussis. This is way higher compared to 88 total cases recorded from 2019 to 2022.
Pertussis or whooping cough (“ubong-dalahit” or “tuspirina” in Filipino) is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection that causes influenza-like symptoms of mild fever, colds, and coughs seven to 10 days after exposure. It can be treated by antibiotics, but is best prevented through vaccination.
The DOH chief reminded the public to have their Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis (Tdap) and Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccines. “These are available for free at local health centers,” he said.
In his report to the Task Force El Niño, Herbosa said the DOH had set up last March 13 a national Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC), with support and assistance from the WHO, UNICEF, and the United States Center for Disease Control (USCDC).
Herbosa, who is a member of the presidential task force, said the PHEOC is supervising on-the-ground response activities to contain the measles cases.
“Code Blue has been practiced in the DOH Central Office (DOH-CO) since March 20, which signals intensified activities to mitigate the spread of the virus through vaccination, micronutrient supplementation, community engagement, and risk communication,” he said.