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DOH cites need for timely, complete child immunization

By Perla Lena

October 4, 2019, 7:05 pm

<p><strong>ON-TIME VACCINATION</strong>. Health authorities are urging parents to have their children vaccinated based on a schedule. Dr. Mary Jane Roches Juanico, the medical coordinator for the child health program of the Department of Health-Center for Health Development in Western Visayas, said the vaccination rate in the past three years in the region is declining. <em>(PNA photo by Perla G. Lena)</em></p>

ON-TIME VACCINATION. Health authorities are urging parents to have their children vaccinated based on a schedule. Dr. Mary Jane Roches Juanico, the medical coordinator for the child health program of the Department of Health-Center for Health Development in Western Visayas, said the vaccination rate in the past three years in the region is declining. (PNA photo by Perla G. Lena)

ILOILO CITY -- The Department of Health-Center for Health Development in Western Visayas (DOH-CHD 6) has underscored the need for parents to follow the immunization schedule of their children to acquire immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio, diphtheria, and measles.

“It is very critical that children mount a good immunization response so that whenever the virus or bacteria is present in the environment, they already have protection or immunity,” said Dr. Mary Jane Roches Juanico, medical coordinator for child health program of DOH-CHD 6 in an interview Friday.

Juanico disclosed that the region has a declining immunization coverage for oral polio vaccine (OPV) and pentavalent (5 in 1) vaccine that prevents tetanus and diphtheria.

In 2018, the OPV immunization coverage was 62 percent while the pentavalent vaccine was at 61.83 percent for some 210,000 eligible children population. The target coverage is supposed to be more than 95 percent.

Juanico said they have tried to reach out to eligible children down to the “sitios” (sub-village) of every barangay. They are also entertaining the idea that a small percentage of the target population have availed of vaccines through private doctors.

Catch up vaccination for OPV and diphtheria vaccines can be provided until the 23rd month of the child. After that, there are no more opportunities unless a mass campaign will be conducted as catch up for children below five years old.

Currently, though, a booster dose of the pentavalent vaccine is being administered from Grades 1 to 7.

Diphtheria is caused by a bacterium present in the environment, in soil, or on the fur of pets.

This year, Juanico said they have recorded five cases of diphtheria with one death in the region. The fatality was recorded in the first quarter of 2019 and was found to be completely un-immunized.

Dr. Jessie Glen Alonsabe, head of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) of DOH-CHD 6, revealed during the Monday press conference that Western Visayas has a very good surveillance reporting to track possible polio cases.

From January 1 to Aug 1, 2019, 28 cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) were recorded in the region. The region is targeting to find 48 AFP cases in the region this year.

The standard rate set by the World Health Organization (WHO) is one child per 100,000 children below 15 years old.

“The earlier that we can report them and have them confirmed, the better for us. We would like to see that these AFP cases will be confirmed and proved that they are not secondary to polio; that they are secondary to other diseases, other than polio,” Alonsabe said.

Of the 28 AFP, 20 were already discarded as non-polio cases while eight others are still being verified.

He added that health workers are encouraged to report any information on individuals experiencing weakness of any extremity to determine if it is a case of polio or a case of AFP secondary to other diseases.

Health authorities expressed that apart from vaccination, they are also urging local government units (LGUs) to have their barangays become certified as zero open defecation (ZOD) areas.

Since the poliovirus can be transmitted through the oral-fecal route, then zero open defecation must be practiced to avoid further contamination of the environment and at the same time, it won’t contaminate potable drinking water.

It is also important to always wash hands and that food has to be cooked properly.

Alonsabe said 99 percent of families should have a sanitary toilet.

Unfortunately, only 45.27 percent of the 4,051 barangays in Western Visayas have been declared as zero open defecation (ZOD) areas.

Capiz has the highest accomplishment with 75.5 percent or 355 ZOD out of 473 barangays; Iloilo province, 67.6 percent or 1,164 out of 1,721 barangays; and Antique with 39 percent equivalent to 231 ZOD villages out of 590 barangays.

Aklan, meantime, has 38 ZOD out of its 327 barangays; 24 out of 601 barangays in Negros Occidental; and 22 out of the 98 barangays of Guimaras.

None of the 180 barangays in Iloilo City and 60 villages of Bacolod City, both highly urbanized cities (HUCs), were declared as ZOD areas. Alonsabe said this is because no barangays from these two cities have submitted for assessment.

Meanwhile, RESU monitoring on measles/rubella for the period January 1 to Sept 29, 2019, was able to record 2,962 suspected measles cases with 10 deaths.

Of the reported cases, 1,341 were un-immunized; 1,044 were immunized; while 577 have immunization status.

RESU data showed that 442 of the cases were confirmed as measles and 30 were rubella cases.

Amid the statistics, health authorities are calling anew on parents to have their children immunized on time, “otherwise they are already pushing some threats to our clients, especially for our under one (year old) children”. (PNA)


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