00:00 The rise of the number of measles cases in the country and the continued decrease of COVID-19 cases we will discuss
00:08 with Dr. Rontgen Solante, Infectious Disease Expert and President of the Philippine College of Physicians.
00:15 Dr. Rontgen, good afternoon.
00:18 Hi, good afternoon to everyone.
00:23 Doc, based on the DOH's report, the number of measles cases in the Philippines increased by almost 300% from January to October this year.
00:32 What is the possible reason for this increase, Doc?
00:35 Well, I think this is expected because the past year, the MMR vaccination rate was low for children.
00:50 In fact, we did not reach the 90% that we needed.
00:55 One of the important factors is COVID-19 vaccination.
01:01 All of our programs and efforts are focused on COVID-19 containment and control.
01:09 This means that the expanded program immunization for children was left out a bit.
01:19 But the gap was too high.
01:24 That's why the DOH implemented a catch-up vaccination that also includes MMR for children less than 2 years old because these are the vulnerable populations.
01:36 But I think if you can remember also, we had a measles outbreak in 2018 and 2019.
01:45 So it becomes a cycle now that if the vaccination rate is low for children, the cases will increase.
01:53 And this is now the result because of the low vaccination coverage that we have had for the past 2 to 3 years.
02:01 So this is something that is expected.
02:05 And not only measles, but other vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, pneumonia, including influenza or pertosis can also increase.
02:18 Doc, what is the main reason for the outbreak of measles?
02:25 Is it related to the changing weather?
02:28 Some are saying that it is the effect of the heat and cold and then suddenly it rains.
02:35 Well, if there is a measles outbreak, there is no seasonal pattern.
02:46 Anytime of the year, we can always have the outbreak.
02:50 And what is important here is that if there is a outbreak, especially for children, it is contagious to the children also in the family, not only that, to the neighbors.
03:03 Because measles is very contagious.
03:08 Its reproductive number is really very high.
03:12 At the same time, it is contagious and that's why we can see it.
03:17 Now the fact that the children are now cold inside the house, this can also increase the possibility of it increasing just like other respiratory tract infections.
03:32 Because measles can also be contracted through aerosol and respiratory droplet.
03:38 Doc, for our countrymen, is it possible for measles to be fatal? What are the possible causes for this disease to die?
03:48 Yes, it is a fatal infection.
03:52 That's why we have a vaccine to prevent transmission and the development of severe measles.
03:59 First of all, the most severe complication is that it can go to the brain, what we call encephalitis, which is a brain infection.
04:09 Second, it can also lead to pneumonia, inflammation in the lungs.
04:14 And we know that pneumonia is viral.
04:18 This is a viral infection, there is no cure for it, it is just a supportive treatment.
04:23 That's why it is really difficult. It is very important that if there are children with measles, they have to consult with the doctor to monitor if there is a complication such as a brain infection or pneumonia.
04:41 These are also life-threatening complications that can kill, especially for children.
04:46 Mortality is very high when measles is infected with complications.
04:52 Okay, Doc, how important is the vaccination against measles?
04:59 And what are the other ways to avoid it?
05:03 I know that it is especially difficult for pregnant women to have measles.
05:07 We really don't want that to happen.
05:10 Yes, you're right, Nina.
05:13 First of all, it is still very important because measles has no treatment, no antiviral agent available.
05:21 Prevention through vaccines is very important.
05:24 And the vaccination against measles is very high, as high as 90 to 95% when the child is vaccinated.
05:33 So the protection is very high.
05:35 Now in any case, if there is a child with measles at home, then you have to isolate the one that has measles
05:42 because it is very important that the child's companion is not touched, or is not bitten.
05:51 But most of the time, it is really difficult to prevent if there is a child with measles at home because it is all connected.
05:59 And in fact, we also have adults with measles, especially for those adults whose measles vaccine is not complete.
06:10 Doc, in other talks, the Department of Health has reported an 18% decrease in the daily reported COVID-19 cases in the country.
06:19 What are the indications of this?
06:21 Well, this is a big thing because first of all, we know that COVID is also another respiratory tract infection,
06:31 just like influenza, that is also contagious and can easily be transmitted.
06:36 So it means that if the number of cases decreases, we will have higher immunity in the population.
06:45 And at the same time, this is the time that our COVID variants are not already as highly transmissible as what we see in previous variants of COVID.
07:02 So that's a good news because first of all, our vaccination is really high but the problem is that we don't have booster vaccinations.
07:13 But what's still here is that even with the low number of cases,
07:18 what we will pass on to the public, especially to vulnerable populations,
07:23 we are not safe here because we might get infected.
07:28 We know that if you are a COVID and vulnerable population, the risk of severe COVID is also high.
07:37 Thank you very much for your time, Dr. Ron G. Insolante,
07:42 Infectious Diseases Expert and President of the Philippine College of Physicians.
