MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) is addressing the current increase in measles cases through a renewed and intensified vaccination campaign to get more Filipinos immunized.

The DOH is also encouraging the public to be actively involved with the department’s community engagement and risk communication activities in support of the ongoing measles vaccination drive.

In a report to the Task Force El Niño, Secretary of Health Teodoro J. Herbosa said the DOH has set up last March 13 a national DOH Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC), with support and assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (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,” Herbosa said in his report.

The DOH targets to vaccinate at least 90% of the high-risk population, especially children from 6 months to 10 years of age in a bid to control measles, the Health Secretary said.

“A non-selective Outbreak Response Immunization (ORI) strategy for measles-rubella is being implemented in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), together with Vitamin A supplementation and a synchronized supplemental immunization activity on bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (bOPV),” he said.

The Health Secretary reminded the public to have their pentavalent Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus, Hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenza type B (DPT-HepB-HiB) and Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccines. These are available for free at local health centers.

In addition to vaccination, the same respiratory precautions learned from the COVID-19 pandemic (voluntary use of a best-fit mask and staying at home when sick, cleaning hands often, and choosing areas with good airflow) will help protect against pertussis, measles, and other respiratory infections, he said.

Under President Marcos’ Executive Order No. 53, which directs the government to streamline, reactivate, and reconstitute the old El Niño task forces under EO No. 16 (s. 2001) and Memorandum Order No. 38 (s. 2019), Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. was appointed chairperson of the task force, with Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum designated as co-chairperson.

Signed on January 19, 2024, President Marcos’ executive order directs the task force to develop a comprehensive disaster preparedness and rehabilitation plan for El Niño and La Niña to provide “systematic, holistic, and results-driven interventions” to help the public cope and minimize their devastating effects.

The President also designated the following officials as task force members: Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, Secretary of Agriculture Francis Tiu Laurel Jr., Herbosa, and Secretary of National Economic and Development Authority Arsenio M. Balisacan.

Meanwhile, four years since the COVID-19 pandemic began and movement was restricted to save lives from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the DOH has been urgently working with local government units and partners for catch up immunization for vaccine preventable diseases such as pertussis and measles.

This aligns with an urgent call by the WHO and UNICEF for urgent vaccination to protect the lives of children, even as Europe experienced a more than 30-fold rise in measles cases in 2023 as reported by the WHO. Countries in Europe have also registered similar alarming increases in pertussis cases.

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. This also indicates that in many areas worldwide, vaccination coverage even before the pandemic may have been lower than what public health requires.

In the Philippines, during the first 10 weeks of the previous years, these were the number of pertussis cases: 52 in 2019, and 27 in 2020. At the height of the pandemic, there were only 7 pertussis cases reported in 2021 for the same period, and then 2 in 2022. In the first year after pandemic restrictions were lifted (2023), there were 23 pertussis cases reported for the same time period. 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.

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 7 to 10 days after exposure. This cough, in typical cases, will develop into a characteristic hacking cough. Pertussis can be treated by antibiotics, but it is best prevented through vaccination.

As of February 24, 2024, the DOH recorded a total of 569 measles and rubella cases. All regions, except for Bicol and Central Visayas, reported to have increasing cases in the recent month. 163 new cases were reported between February 11 to 24, which is 3% higher compared to 2 weeks prior (159 cases). 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 a body rash. There is no specific treatment for the virus that causes measles; however, vaccination protects against it. (DOH)