As of early March this year, the Department of Health (DOH) has already confirmed a total of 878 measles cases in the country. This is more than 200 percent higher than the 241 confirmed cases in the same period last year. Furthermore, this has already resulted to six deaths due to complications. 

According to Nelizza de Gorostiza-Banocnoc, M.D., a pediatrician holding clinic at Pasay City’s San Juan de Dios Hospital, measles is a respiratory disease caused by the measles virus of the Paramyxoviridae family. “Transmission is airborne via respiratory means: direct contact with infectious droplets from sneezing or coughing,” she explains, adding that measles is very contagious that a child, who does not have good immunity or is not vaccinated against this disease, can get infected if he/she gets exposed to it.

Measles manifest through the following symptoms:

• High grade fever for more than one week
• Red rashes that appear in a descending pattern, starting on the forehead down to the soles of the feet, beginning from the third or fourth day of fever accompanied by the three (3) C’s, cough, coryza (symptoms of a head cold), and conjunctivitis (eye infection).

“Expect the fever to subside by the time the rashes reach the feet,” says de Gorostiza-Banocnoc. After a few days, the rashes would turn brown, which is a sign of having the classic type of measles.

Dangers

De Gorostiza-Banocnoc cautions that measles sometimes come with complications which can cause death. “Although measles is self-limiting, you must bring the child to the doctor right away to detect complications,” she advises citing that death rate is increased when the patient’s health become further compromised by harmful complications.

Children under 5 years old and adults over 20 years old are more susceptible to measles complications. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s data, even in previously healthy children, measles can become a serious illness that may require hospitalization. About one in every 20 children with measles gets pneumonia, while one child in every 1,000 will develop encephalitis, a swelling of the brain that can lead to convulsions, one which may leave a child deaf or mentally retarded.

The CDC further reports that for every 1,000 children who get measles, one or two will die from it. Moreover, the disease can make pregnant women miscarry, give birth prematurely, or have a baby with low birth weight. CDC statistics show that measles kills almost one million children in the world every year.

Precautions

If someone in your family comes down with measles, isolate him/her right away. A congested room, warns de Gorostiza-Banocnoc, can be a venue for transmission as droplets or respiratory secretions from coughs, colds and sneezes are easily spread here.

“Visit your pediatrician regularly and complete the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) recommended vaccinations which is more comprehensive than the Philippines’ Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI),” she urges. “Ask your doctor about these vaccinations.”

For parents who have tight budgets, de Gorostiza-Banocnoc reminds parents that under the EPI, the Philippine government provides basic vaccines such as BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin), DPT (Diptheria Pertussis Tetanus), Polio, Hepa B (Hepatitis B), and Measles.  Take note that a child should have his/her first measles shot at nine months old followed by a booster shot of the MMR  vaccine at 15 months of age.

"Still, you have to have your children complete their booster shots and other vaccines recommended by the PPS,” she stresses, listing MMR (Measles Mumps Rubella), Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B), Varicella (Chicken Pox), PCV (Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine), and Hepa A (Hepatitis A) as some of these.

“The recent outbreak is very unfortunate because measles is a very preventable illness,” pronounces de Gorostiza-Banocnoc. “Go out and have your children vaccinated against measles and other highly communicable diseases at the right time.” She counsels not to wait for an epidemic, outbreak or reports of rising incidences of measles in your area before you have your children immunized.