IBA, Zambales (PIA) -- The Department of Health (DOH) shared the Prevention, Detection, Isolation, Treatment and Reintegration (PDITR) strategy against measles and pertussis.

These are vaccine-preventable diseases caused by viruses or bacteria, and infections can result in hospitalization and sometimes be fatal.

DOH Central Luzon Center for Health Development Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit medical officer Loriza Soriano advised the public to practice good respiratory hygiene to prevent transmission.

"We advise the public to practice good respiratory hygiene like covering mouth and nose or using tissue or elbow or arm when you sneeze and cough. It is also important to always wash your hands or use alcohol if soap and water are unavailable," she emphasized.

Also, unvaccinated individuals, individuals with incomplete vaccination series, or individuals with high risk for developing severe disease should avoid or limit contact with individuals with known probable pertussis and measles cases to prevent transmission.

In health facilities, DOH advises health workers to strengthen infection prevention and control measures by observing standard precautions complemented by droplet precautions or contact precautions, wearing face masks, hand hygiene, using disposable or dedicated patient-care equipment, and regularly cleaning and disinfecting equipment before and after use.

The second strategy is the detection and reporting of pertussis and measles cases.

"Detection and reporting of pertussis and measles cases shall be a shared responsibility among centers for health developments, local government units, and health facilities," Soriano emphasized.

Republic Act 11332 mandates all  public and private physicians, allied medical personnel, professional societies, hospitals, clinics, health facilities, laboratories, institutions, workplaces, schools, prisons, ports, airports, establishments, communities, other government agencies, and non-government organizations to accurately and immediately report notifiable diseases and health events of public health concern as issued by DOH.

Soriano highlighted that measles is under category one which means it is an immediately notifiable disease that needs to be reported immediately within 24 hours.

Pertussis, on the other hand, is under category two or weekly notifiable disease.

With this, contact tracing and management should be done for clusters of cases and confirmed cases with close contacts, and samples for bacteriological testing shall be collected for all individuals meeting the clinical case definitions for pertussis.

For isolation, confirmed or probable pertussis cases, or any symptomatic and asymptomatic close contact should avoid contact with high-risk individuals, especially the unimmunized, until at least five days after the start of effective antimicrobial therapy, and untreated cases should avoid contact with high-risk individuals for the full infectious period or 21 days.

Also, asymptomatic close contacts need daily monitoring for 21 days after the last exposure to a suspect or confirmed case.

Moreover, for measles cases, any person who had contact with the case four days before and after rash onset should be monitored by public health authorities for 23 days from the last contact with the confirmed case.

Given this, Soriano advised individuals with pertussis and measles cases to visit the nearest rural health unit or hospital once symptoms developed.

Treatment for pertussis includes post-exposure prophylaxis for high-risk individuals and close contact with pertussis cases, post-exposure vaccination, and antibiotic treatment.

For measles, clinical case management includes administering Vitamin A, which can help prevent eye damage and blindness, and reduce measles mortality by 50 percent.

Lastly is reintegration.

DOH advised recovering individuals to continue practicing hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette to prevent possible transmission.

She also reminded individuals with pertussis or measles to restrict contact with others until completion of antibiotic therapy, depending on the assessment and advice of the attending physician after discharge.

Everyone is also advised to be up to date with vaccinations against pertussis and measles, especially high-risk individuals.

DOH records show that as of March 30 this year, there are 47 laboratory-confirmed cases of pertussis in Central Luzon and 56 percent of cases belong to less than six months of age, with the majority of cases being unvaccinated.

For the same period, there are a total of 124 cases of measles in the region, with 34 percent belonging to less than nine months old, who are not yet eligible for vaccination.

The agency advises individuals with symptoms of pertussis and measles not to report to work or school, and to seek medical consultation at the nearest health facility. (MJSC/RGP-PIA 3)