Measles outbreak looms as trust in vaccines declines

MANILA: Health experts warned against a possible outbreak of measles in the Philippines, as a disease long under control is fuelled by patchy immunisation programmes and declining trust in vaccines.

Measles cases jumped nearly fivefold to 17,300 in the 11 months to November versus last year’s figure, mostly in conflict areas in the south, said doctors and officials of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

“We have almost eradicated measles, but we are now seeing a rise in cases, because the trust in vaccines is declining this year,” Lulu Bravo, of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, told a meeting on media reporting on vaccines.

“This is disturbing,” she said, tracing the drop in confidence to political factors, among other reasons. “Filipinos are becoming scientifically illiterate.”

No deaths from measles were reported in 2014, she said, adding that immunisation efforts in many countries had already stamped out the disease, like smallpox. Four children died from measles this year on the southern island of Mindanao.

Just 7% of eligible children in conflict areas in the southern Philippines were immunised against measles this year, the WHO said. Last year’s five-month battle to liberate the city of Marawi from Islamic State-inspired rebels fed the surge, WHO experts said, adding that overcrowding in temporary shelter areas and migration worsened the problem.

Anna Lisa Ong-Lim, head of the Paediatric Infectious Diseases Society of the Philippines, said 69% of children with measles this year had no immunisation, for reasons such as their parents’ refusal.