Health experts have warned that around 2.6 million kids in Philippines are at risk due to measles outbreak in the country, as many people have died from the disease this year than in all of 2018.
The outbreak has killed 261 people this year alone, and most of the victims were children aged under five, a 547 percent increase that the previous year with 202 deaths, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) found.
Measles Immunization Day
Measles Immunization Day 2018 is celebrated to urge people to get themselves vaccinated against the highly infectious Measles virus. It can be prevented with MMR vaccine. The vaccine can protect against three diseases: measles, mumps, and rubella.
Advertisement
‘The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) with the Philippines' health department is now aiming to immunize all unvaccinated kids across seven of the hardest-hit regions over the next 12 months.’
Read More..
Tweet it Now
Read More..
"It is completely unacceptable that children are still dying from measles in 2019," CNN quoted Richard Gordon, chairman, and CEO of the Philippines Red Cross, as saying on Friday.
The IFRC, with the Philippines' Department of Health, is now aiming to immunize all unvaccinated children across seven of the "hardest-hit regions" over the next 12 months.
![New Measles Rubella Vaccine Used in The Mass Campaign in India]( "New Measles Rubella Vaccine Used in The Mass Campaign in India")
The vaccine will be provided free of cost across the States from session sites at schools and health facilities and outreach session sites.
"We are drawing on the skills and dedication of our two million Red Cross volunteers to go door-to-door and neighborhood-to-neighborhood," Gordon added.
Filipinos' confidence in vaccines fell dramatically after a 2014 scandal involving a new dengue fever vaccine, Dengvaxia.
Those with no history of dengue were at a greater risk of developing a more severe form of the disease after having the vaccination.
Rudy Constantino, Director of the Philippines Department of Health Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, told CNN that vaccine levels for measles, flu, and other diseases dropped from 70 percent in 2017 to 39 percent in 2018 "because of the Dengvaxia scare."
Gundo Weiler, the World Health Organization representative to the Philippines, said the country was now suffering from a measles outbreak "every three to four years," pointing to large-scale outbreaks in 2011 and 2014.
The Philippines outbreak comes after global measles cases increased by 48.4 percent between 2017 and 2018, according to Unicef analysis.
Source: IANS
New Measles Rubella Vaccine Used in The Mass Campaign in India
The vaccine will be provided free of cost across the States from session sites at schools and health facilities and outreach session sites.
Advertisement
"We are drawing on the skills and dedication of our two million Red Cross volunteers to go door-to-door and neighborhood-to-neighborhood," Gordon added.
Filipinos' confidence in vaccines fell dramatically after a 2014 scandal involving a new dengue fever vaccine, Dengvaxia.
Those with no history of dengue were at a greater risk of developing a more severe form of the disease after having the vaccination.
Rudy Constantino, Director of the Philippines Department of Health Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, told CNN that vaccine levels for measles, flu, and other diseases dropped from 70 percent in 2017 to 39 percent in 2018 "because of the Dengvaxia scare."
Gundo Weiler, the World Health Organization representative to the Philippines, said the country was now suffering from a measles outbreak "every three to four years," pointing to large-scale outbreaks in 2011 and 2014.
The Philippines outbreak comes after global measles cases increased by 48.4 percent between 2017 and 2018, according to Unicef analysis.
Source: IANS
Impact of Measles Immunization Campaigns in India: Study
New study provides a first insight on the impact of mass vaccination campaigns introduced in 2010 in India. The findings suggest that eradicating deaths from measles in India could be possible.
Advertisement
Measles Outbreak Kills Nearly 70 People in PhilippinesMeasles outbreak has claimed around 70 lives in Philippines. Measles, otherwise known as rubeola, is a highly contagious viral disease. It causes upper respiratory symptoms, fever, and rash. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Child Health News
A mother found a team at Saint Louis University's Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic that empowered her daughter to communicate with increased confidence in different settings.
In 2022, the number of North Korean kids falling under the obese category stood at 47,500 compared with 25,100 in 2012.
In mice the maternal milk provides a key signal that instructs cardiomyocytes to activate lipid metabolism.
Among infants infections from enterovirus are common, but the association to heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis) with severe outcomes is unusual.
New approach called “Eat, Sleep, Console” gets newborns with symptoms of opioid withdrawal out of the hospital sooner and with less medication.