Despite the death of a Grade 4 student in Manila last week, an official of the Department of Health ruled out an outbreak of diphtheria—but emphasized the “mortality” from the disease “is unacceptable.”
READ: Outbreaks of diseases under control—Palace
“We do not have a diphtheria outbreak,” said Dr. Anthony Calibo, OIC-chief of the DOH Children’s Health Development Division-Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, in an interview with ABS-CBN News.
He said the disease is readily preventable through vaccination.
The DOH previously said it saw a slight increase in cases of diphtheria this year, recording a total of 167 cases and 40 deaths from January to September 2019, but Undersecretary Eric Domingo said the cases “do not constitute an outbreak, nor has there been any continuous transmission.”
The department also said Friday it was seeking the assistance of other agencies for an immunization drive against polio after the Philippines recently recorded its first cases of the crippling disease in two decades.
READ: PH polio-free no longer; virus reemerges; DOH warning out
The DOH convened with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council on Friday morning, Domingo told radio dzMM.
“We will ask for help because when we start our supplemental immunization against polio, especially in Mindanao, the strategy here is that we need to be fast and the oral vaccine needs to be given to all children. The DOH can’t do it alone,” the undersecretary said.
READ: National polio vaccination drive kicks off in Manila
The Philippine Pediatric Society Inc. on Friday said the low immunization turnout for preventable diseases, such as polio, should not be blamed on the Dengvaxia controversy.
In an interview on radio dzBB, Dr. Fatima Gimenez, PPSI chairperson of the immunization committee, cited a low coverage of immunization for “so many reasons even before the issue of the Dengvaxia [came out] over the past several years.”
“One of the reasons is that the parents are too busy to bring their children [for vaccination],” she said.
“Think of the life of your children. If you give them the vaccination, you prevent the spread of the disease. Vaccination is also love for your neighbor,” she said.
She identified the financial constraints as another reason for low vaccination coverage.
The DOH earlier blamed the Dengvaxia scare for the low vaccination rates and the resurgence of polio after a 19-year absence.
In a separate development, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso led the city in marking World Heart Day to instill awareness on the need to take good care of hearts.
The Philippine Heart Association said that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the Philippines.
By 2030, the PHA said it is expected that 23 million people will die annually from CVD. At least 80 percent of premature deaths from heart disease and stroke could be avoided if the main risk factors like tobacco, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity are uncontrolled.
Calibo added that the number of reported diphtheria cases fell “within the usual range” that the Health department has established every year.
Children are more vulnerable to diphtheria because their immune systems are not as well developed as those of adults.
“So if children are not vaccinated and they are exposed to the bacteria, there is a bigger risk that they will acquire the disease. This may lead to death if not treated immediately,” he said.
Records showed that from Jan. 1 to Sept. 7 this year, the DOH monitored 167 cases of diphtheria nationwide, 40 of which led to deaths.
There were 122 diphtheria cases and 30 deaths due to the disease during the same period last year.
For the entire 2018, 183 diphtheria cases and 38 deaths were reported nationwide—three cases lower than the 186 reported in 2017.
Of the reported diphtheria cases in 2018, 38 individuals died, lower than the 44 deaths the previous year.
Calibo said that severe diphtheria cases can lead to death, especially among infants, due to “respiratory compromise.”
Diphtheria is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium diphtheria, which affects the throat and the upper airways. Initial symptoms include sore throat, low fever, and swollen glands in the neck.
The bacteria produce a “pseudomembrane” or a membrane of dead-tissue buildup over the throat and tonsils. This can block the throat and air passageway, cause breathing difficulties, and if not treated right away can eventually lead to death.
An infected person can spread the disease to another person through droplets, by sneezing, coughing, and close personal contact.
A 95 percent vaccine coverage nationwide is needed to reduce the threat of an outbreak, Calibo said.
DOH data over the last 10 years show that the country has never reached this target.
In 2018, only 65 percent of infants were fully immunized against diphtheria or received the required three doses of Pentavalent vaccine—a combination of vaccines against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenza B.
The vaccine is administered to infants at 1½ months, 2½ months, and 3½ months as part of DOH’s Expanded Program on Immunization.
Gimenez said open defecation is the cause of the polio virus.
“Open defecation contaminates our water system. More importantly, one must always wash hands so we could prevent the polio virus from (human) feces from spreading,” she said.