TO MARK the annual celebration of the
Asean Dengue Day in the country, the Department of Health (DOH) has expanded
its ongoing school-based dengue immunization program to the Visayas.
Health Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin
said: “This year’s Asean Dengue Day is a significant milestone in our country
as we are expanding our dengue vaccination through a school-based immunization
approach. We are the first country to introduce, adopt and implement the
first-ever dengue vaccine through the public health system and under the public
school setting. With this breakthrough, we can now increase our immunization
services to address a disease that is of public health importance.”
As the fourth in the country with the
highest number of reported dengue cases since January 2016, the DOH decided to
include Central Visayas (Region VII) to its targeted areas. Among these
targeted area are Central Luzon (Region III), Calabarzon (Region IV-A) and the
National Capital Region (NCR).
Region VII is made up of the
provinces of Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental and Siquijor, and the cities of Cebu,
Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
As of June 12, a total of 300,087
Grade 4 pupils aged 9 years old and above (with parental consent) have been
vaccinated in the initial three regions.
Two
more doses
These same students are scheduled to
receive two more doses. The administration of the first dose started in April
and will end this month. This will be followed by the second dose in October
and will last until December. The third and final dose will be administered
between April and June 2017.
Strict surveillance is being
conducted to identify reactions with the vaccines. To date, less than 1 percent
adverse event following immunization was reported, majority of which are mild
reactions such as fever, dizziness, vomiting and rash.
According to Garin, the Philippines
had the highest incidence of dengue cases in the Western Pacific Region from
2013 to 2015. As of June 4, 2016, a total of 49,904 suspected dengue cases were
already reported nationwide.
Most of the cases were from Region
IV-A (6,887 or 13.8 percent of the current number of cases), Region III (5,141
or 10.8 percent) and Region VII (5,018 or 10.7 percent). Majority of the cases
were males 5-14 years old. There were 190 deaths reported within
that period.
One of
many means
The health chief, however, added that
the dengue vaccines are not the only solution to fight dengue and is just one
of the many interventions that the country has initiated against dengue.
“We will continue to fight against
mosquito-borne diseases through the ‘4S campaign.’ The 4S means search and
destroy mosquito-breeding places; use self- protection measures; seek early
consultation for fever lasting more than two days; and say ‘no’ to indiscriminate
fogging. Sa tamang impormasyon at sama-samang aksyon, protektahan natin ang
ating pamilya laban sa dengue,” said Garin.
As one of the member states
supporting the Asian Dengue Vaccination Advocacy(Adva), the Philippines has also
welcomed the New Dengue Mission Buzz Barometer, an online
site—www.denguemissionbuzz.org —that seeks to provide a dynamic comparison of
dengue preparedness among member countries including Indonesia, Malaysia,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Dengue Mission Buzz Barometer
features a Dengue Readiness Quiz to help site visitors gauge their level of
dengue prevention readiness.
Public
awareness
“By launching the Dengue Mission Buzz
portal in conjunction with Asean Dengue Day, we hope to increase public
awareness of dengue and its prevention in an engaging and interactive way,
while encouraging greater vigilance against the disease in the region,” said
Prof. Usa Thisyakorn, chair of Adva.
Quiz results from the Philippines as
well as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will be
dynamically displayed on a scoreboard on the site and participants are
encouraged to share their quiz results and completion badges on social media.
The website, which presents valuable
news, videos and information about dengue prevention and is available in
multiple languages, aims to educate at least 25,000 citizens in these countries
with the quiz.
Aside from the website, the DOH
informed that it has set up other activities to raise awareness on dengue
prevention including lay forum on disease awareness and a cleanup activity that
starts at 4 p.m. to emphasize the 4 o’clock habit.
Dengue is the fastest growing
mosquito-borne disease in the world today, causing nearly 400 million
infections every year. In the last 50 years, dengue has spread from being
present in a handful of countries to being endemic in 128 countries, where
about 4 billion people live.
Dengue incidence has likewise
increased 30-fold in this period. In Southeast Asia, the economic and disease
burden of dengue surpasses that of 17 other diseases including upper
respiratory infections and hepatitis B.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
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