THE Davao City Health Office (CHO) confirmed the death of a one-year old patient due to measles this year.
During the Ispeak media forum Thursday, February 14, CHO technical division Chief Doctor Julinda Acosta said the patient who was from Barangay Tibungco was admitted at Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) on January 21. The day of death, however, was not revealed.
"We found out na wala siya na-immunize kay dili musugot ang ginikanan kay mahadlok sila sa effect sa bakuna (We found out that the patient was never immunized because the parents did not give consent. They were afraid on the effect of the vaccine),” Acosta said, adding that the Dengvaxia issue may have contributed to the distrust from parents.
“Ginabuhat namo is ginatagaan namo og right education and information but then kung dili gyud musugot ang parents, dili gyud na mapugos na ma-immunize (What we do is educate and inform the parents but then if they would still not give consent, we cannot do anything about it),” she said.
Meanwhile, Acosta said that another suspected case of death due to measles is now under investigation by the City Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (CESU). They found out that the victim never had measles vaccination which may have caused the victim’s vulnerability to the highly-contagious disease.
“Ang initial report is iyang papa ang nakatakod sa tipdas but we are still investigating. Nandoon ang aming staff sa area, we will still wait sa confirmation (The initial report was that the disease was from the father but we are still confirming that. Our staff is in the area for the ongoing investigation),” Acosta said.
Due to measles outbreak in Luzon, Acosta said their programs on measles vaccination are being intensified through the implementation of policy on immunization without borders.
The policy will allow children temporarily staying in Davao City for a vacation to avail of free measles immunization at the health centers in the city.