Philippines - Second Korean case of Zika linked to trip to Philippines

The number of Koreans visiting the Philippines might significantly decrease following a second confirmed Zika case in a man who is believed to have been infected there.

According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), Wednesday, the man, 20, who tested positive for the virus, visited Boracay, a small resort island in the Philippines, and Kalibo, between April 10 and 14. He said he was bitten by a mosquito there on April 13.

Boracay is one of the most frequently visited tourist destinations for Koreans, especially newlyweds, with more than 100,000 traveling there annually.

So far, worries about the mosquito-borne virus have remained minimal here, because the outbreak is mainly concentrated in Central and South America. Korea's first confirmed patient last month was infected with the virus after travelling to Brazil, a country which is not a popular tourist destination for Koreans. But the situation is different for the Philippines.

Expectant mothers and soon-to-be-married couples are discussing in Internet communities about whether to cancel trips to the Philippines, because the virus is linked with birth defects.

"I decided to cancel my plans to travel to the Philippines. I am pregnant so my baby's heath is most important," a woman posted on one such site.

"Traveling is always fun and romantic, but I would never risk my baby's health for anything," another woman wrote.

According to Hana Tour, the nation's largest travel agency, the company is bracing for a possible spike in cancellations in the upcoming summer holiday season.

"Although there has been no significant number of cancellations yet, we are preparing for a possible decrease of travelers to the Philippines this summer," an official from the agency said.

"If the KCDC issues a travel advisory for virus-affected regions, then we would consider exempting cancellation fees for pregnant women," he added.

Meanwhile, the second patient, who had been hospitalized at the Seoul National University Hospital, was released Thursday, according to the KCDC.

"The man is healthy, and all his symptoms including rash and fever have subsided. We decided to release him as he is not likely to infect others," an official said.

The KCDC is running a test on the man's older brother, who accompanied him during the trip. The brother said he was not bitten by a mosquito, nor is he showing symptoms.

The mosquito-borne virus is almost never life threatening but poses serious health concerns for pregnant women, because it is linked with microcephaly, a birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

The KCDC recommends pregnant women delay their travel to 45 countries on its watch list, mostly in countries in Central and South America, and Oceania.

By Lee Kyung-min

koreatimes

Philippines - Philippines dengue vaccine update: 200,000 kids vaccinated, 362 adverse events, details on child death

In an update on the first of its kind immunization program with the newly approved dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, Philippines health officials (DOH) provided the following update Monday.

The Dengue School-Based Immunization program that commenced on Apr. 4 continues on and at the three week mark, a total of 204, 397 (73%) pupils were vaccinated out of 279,393 pupils with parents’ consent.

As of April 24, 2016 a total of 362 cases of Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) from the three regions where the Dengue School Based Immunization Program were received. The top five common reactions were fever, headache, dizziness, vomiting, and rash. The DOH established a strict monitoring and surveillance system for adverse events and side effects following immunization.

There has been a lot of coverage on the fatality of an 11-year-old boy who was vaccinated on Mar. 31.  The DOH offered the following details and explanation of the case:

The patient is claimed to have been diagnosed to have congenital heart disease during his childhood. No maintenance medication was taken since his transfer to his current guardians.  During immunization of dengue vaccine, the patient was screened and assessed by the RHU physician at the school. When asked the guardian (uncle) denied history of fever, illness, and maintenance medication during assessment.

On April 3, 2016 patient developed diarrhea and fever, he was seen and examined the next day at the Bagac Community Medicare Hospital and was diagnosed to have amoebiasis. Patient was sent home with medications. On April 9, the patient was seen and admitted at the Isaac Catalina Medical Center after experiencing difficulty of breathing, fever, and cough. He was initially diagnosed with pneumonia, severe; congenital heart disease in Congestive Heart Failure, and electrolyte imbalance. April 10, the patient was referred and transferred to Bataan General Hospital. April 11, patient had a cardiac arrest and was eventually pronounced dead. The immediate cause of death was pulmonary edema with the following underlying causes: congenital heart disease, Acute Gastroenteritis with moderate dehydration.

The case was presented to the National Adverse Event Following Immunization Committee (NAEFIC) last April 21, 2016 to assess the findings. Their conclusion is consistent with the hospital findings. The dengue vaccination is coincidental. According to NAEFIC, congenital heart disease is not an exclusion criterion for vaccination.

The Philippines reported more than 200,000 dengue cases last year and nearly 600 deaths. As of April 9, 2016, a total of 33, 658 suspected dengue cases were reported nationwide. The Philippines has the highest incidence of dengue and ranks number 1 in the Western Pacific Region from 2013 to 2015.

outbreaknewstoday

Philippines - Groups demand cheaper pneumonia vaccine for Filipino kids

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A number of advocacy organizations are  calling on the Filipino American community to support a global effort to save Filipino children from pneumonia, the leading cause of child mortality in the Philippines.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Philippines is one of 15 countries that together account for 75 percent of childhood pneumonia cases worldwide. In children aged under five years, pneumonia is the leading cause of mortality.

The National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) is supporting the petition drive spearheaded by NextDayBetter and Doctors Without Borders that is directed at two pharmaceutical companies –  Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – the only two producers of the life-saving pneumonia vaccine.

“We need Pfizer and GSK to lower the pneumonia vaccine price in the Philippines, from $45 to $5 per child,” says Ryan Letada of NextDayBetter, a storytelling platform for creative diaspora communities, which uses digital media and global speaker events to generate action and make an impact. “Many lives have been saved by this vaccine, but pneumonia still kills nearly 1 million children every year. The problem is urgent.”

NaFFAA’s Director of Health, Dr. Rommel Rivera of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, says the situation is alarming and affirms NaFFAA’s endorsement of this initiative.

“We must take a stand as a community and use our influence to put pressure on these giant companies to make the vaccine affordable not only for children in the Philippines but for all children all over the world,” Rivera said. “The petition campaign ends next Tuesday so we’re calling on everyone to tell their family, friends and co-workers to sign now. It is critical that we make our voices heard.”

The link to the petition is www.nextdaybetter.com/afairshot​. The goal is to collect 300,000 signatures by April 26. The petitions will be delivered to the offices of Pfizer and GSK the following day.

Rivera, who is President of the Philippine Medical Society of Greater Philadelphia (PMSGP), posted the online link to the petition a week ago, which was in turn shared by NaFFAA members nationwide.

Among those responding is Dr. Nanette Bernabe Quion of Arlington, Virginia, a pediatrician who is trained in public health. “This vaccine will save millions of lives,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “This vaccine has been proven to be safe and efficacious. The expensive cost of drug development should not be borne by poor and developing countries. It is very unfortunate that the Philippine DOH has not included the pneumococcal vaccine in its Expanded Program of immunization when it is a proven and cost effective vaccine. We should have spent on this vaccine, which has a better safety profile, instead of the haphazard implementation of the dengue vaccine.”

In explaining NDB’s collaboration with Doctors Without Borders, Letada says that they “recognize that the Filipino diaspora is a source of world-class healthcare professionals (nurses, doctors, physical therapy) and public health community organizers. Without Filipino healthcare professionals, the global healthcare system would implode — that’s how influential and critical we are as a community.

“Doctors Without Borders and NextDayBetter believe that the Filipino diaspora belong on the decision making table when it comes to public health issues that plague our community. This campaign is about ensuring that our community’s voice is heard.”

globalnation.inquirer.

Philippines - Davao Oriental declared malaria, filariasis free

Health officials in Davao Oriental in the southern Philippines has declared the province free of the mosquito borne parasitic diseases, malaria and filariasis.

During the ceremonial declaration and awarding on April 20 at the Provincial Capitol, DOH Undersecretary for Technical Services, Dr. Vicente Belisario, Jr., lauded Davao Oriental’s feat for eliminating two major public health diseases.

“This is a major feat because you have eliminated filariasis and malaria which are public health problems that are greatly associated with poverty,” he said.

Provincial Health Officer I, Dr. Joy Sanico, said that the elimination of these public health diseases involves considerable amount of time and effort. She listed several strategies in eliminating these diseases which include among others: early detection and prompt treatment, case surveillance,

capability-building among municipal health workers, and increasing public awareness through extensive information, education, and communication campaign, among many others. In the case of filariasis, the Public Health Office has been giving prophylaxis treatment to susceptible and predisposed groups particularly in far-flung areas.

In order to efficiently implement sustainable set of measures to ensure that filariasis and malaria will continually be eliminated as a public health problem here in the province, the DOH has turned over to the Provincial Government a total of P 2 million cash grant for filariasis and malaria control which will further boost the province’s disease-control programs.

Malaria, from the Italian for “bad air”, is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells.

Elephantiasis of leg due to filariasis/CDC

In 2013 an estimated 198 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide and 500,000 people died, mostly children in the African Region.

Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs. In many parts of the world, the parasites have developed resistance to a number of malaria medicines.

There are three different filarial species (nematode parasites) that can cause lymphatic filariasis in humans. Most of the infections worldwide are caused by Wuchereria bancrofti. In Asia, the disease can also be caused by Brugia malayi and Brugia timori.

Lymphatic filariasis affects over 120 million people in 73 countries throughout the tropics and sub-tropics of Asia, Africa, the Western Pacific, and parts of the Caribbean and South America.

A wide range of mosquitoes can transmit the parasite, depending on the geographic area. In Africa, the most common vector is Anopheles and in the Americas, it is Culex quinquefasciatus. Aedes and Mansonia can transmit the infection in the Pacific and in Asia.

The painful and profoundly disfiguring visible manifestations of the disease, lymphoedema, elephantiasis and scrotal swelling occur later in life and lead to permanent disability. These patients are not only physically disabled, but suffer mental, social and financial losses contributing to stigma and poverty.

By Robert Herriman

outbreaknewstoday

Philippines - Hurdles cleared but disillusionment, homesickness prompt Filipino health workers to exit Japan

MANILA – A number Filipino nurses and caregivers who seized the opportunity to train in Japan to work there have ended up returning to the Philippines, including some who passed the tough licensing exam.

“The journey to becoming a nurse in Japan was indeed a mission impossible. . . . We were very tired physically, mentally and emotionally while studying to pass the board exam and working at the same time. All of us were pushed to study even on our rest day,” a Filipino nurse who quit only a year after his deployment in 2011 said recently.

The 33-year-old nurse, who requested anonymity so he could freely express his views, is among more than 1,200 Filipino nurses and caregivers who were accepted by Japan starting in 2009 under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement.

Under the program, nurses and caregivers from the Philippines first learn the Japanese language and culture, undergo training in Japanese health facilities, and then take the Japanese licensing exam in their respective profession.

Candidates who pass are granted a working visa, allowing them to both work and help graying Japan address its growing shortage of health workers at the same time.

A fresh batch of 60 nurses and 275 caregivers is about to complete a six-month Japanese language and culture course in the Philippines before deployment to Japan in June.

“Learning the language alone is already difficult, and it’s all the more grueling trying to pass the exam,” the Filipino nurse, who has already migrated to another country after returning from Japan, said in an email message.

He complained also of a change in the payment terms in his contract when he started working in the Japanese hospital.

To encourage candidates to complete the program, he said they should be allowed to shadow their Japanese counterparts as they perform their jobs, instead of getting assigned tasks usually performed by orderlies or janitors.

“If I could turn back the clock, I would have not chosen to sacrifice my career as a public nurse back home and my family life,” the Filipino nurse said.

Filipino caregivers Aira Ignacio and Bernadette Villanueva, speaking in a separate interview, also attested to the difficulty of working and studying at the same time when they entered the program in 2011.

“There are times when you really wanna give up, because not all things in Japan are good,” Ignacio, 30, said. “There were times during my first year there that I asked myself if that is really the job that I wanted, because I’m not really used to taking care of old people, and doing it alone.”

Ignacio, who is a licensing d nurse in the Philippines, was assigned to a facility in Okinawa, while Villanueva, 29, went to a facility in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture.

But unlike the other nurse, Ignacio and Villanueva endured the challenges of their three-year training program and passed the licensing exam for caregivers in 2015.

Both said that while their respective facilities supported them in their studies while they worked, they also had to study in their free time just to make sure they passed the exam.

But passing the exam did not lead to a significant increase in pay, contrary to their initial expectations.

For this reason, coupled with personal ones — recurring back pain and wanting to be reunited with her family (Ignacio), and marriage plans (Villanueva), the two decided to return to the Philippines last year.

Equipped with Japanese skills, the two now have relatively high-paying jobs in Manila as interpreters in hospitals for Japanese patients who cannot speak English.

The two agree that their present circumstances are much better than if they had continued working in Japan as licensed caregivers, because aside from the good pay, they are also living with or close to their respective families. Being able to continue speaking Japanese and working in the medical field are additional benefits.

But amid their difficulties in Japan, Ignacio and Villanueva said there were plenty of positive things they will never forget, foremost of which is the sense of achievement of overcoming the physical, mental and emotional challenges as affirmed by their successful shot at the licensing exam.

“Living in Japan is not like being in heaven. There’s loneliness, homesickness. But when I felt the desire to go home before, I just thought right away of the reason why I went there,” Villanueva said.

“We advise them to have lots of patience, because you really have to study and work at the same time,” Ignacio added.

The two admit to being open to the possibility of returning if the right offer comes, noting also how they miss the clean environment, the politeness of the Japanese, and the efficiency of the public transport system, among other aspects.

According to official data, just over 160 of the nearly 200 Filipino nurses and caregivers who passed the Japanese licensing exam from 2010 up to 2015 are working in Japan.

For this year, 56 Filipino caregivers and nurses passed, but there are no data immediately available as to how many of them are employed in Japan.

The Japan International Corporation for Welfare Services, which directly handles the program on the part of Japan, said the most common reasons cited by those who passed the exam but decided not to work in Japan are personal and family issues, particularly the desire to just be close to and take care of their parents.

By Ronron Calunsod

japantimes

Philippines - More healthcare jobs as PH becomes retirement haven: Baldoz

MANILA - The rising stature of the Philippines as one of the top retirement havens in the world augurs well for the creation of job opportunities in the local health industry, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said Wednesday.

“The Forbes magazine’s recognition of the Philippines as one of the top 20 best foreign retirement havens in the world, specifically of the first-rate amenities offered by retirement facilities in Subic Bay and Tagaytay City, would create demand for health care services specific to the needs of retirees from any part of the world who are coming to the Philippines looking for home away from home,” said Baldoz.

The labor chief said that health and wellness, which is central to the medical tourism industry, is one of the 13 key employment generators in the Jobs Fit Labor Market Information Report 2013-2020.

The labor market information report cites health and wellness industry’s in-demand occupations, such as anesthetist, dentist, dietician, hairdresser, massage therapist, manicurist, surgeon, and radiologic technician, among other jobs. The hard-to-fill occupations are biochemical engineer, microbiologist, cosmetic surgeon, and physical therapist. There are also cross-cutting occupations who are both in-demand and hard-to-fill, and these are physicians, pharmacists, nutritionists, and medical technologists.

“We need to fill this demand by providing the right training and education so that we can create a niche specific in this emerging healthcare market. There is a huge potential in generating quality jobs in medical tourism,” Baldoz said. 

The Secretary also acknowledged the efforts of some higher education institutions that are pioneering in the offering of curricular programs to professionalize the health and wellness occupation.

“With the Philippines emerging as a retirement haven, our educational system must also attune itself to the demands of the labor market by producing graduates equipped with the right skills and specialization, such as geriatric health care,” Baldoz said.

Forbes magazine cited the Philippines’ affordable cost of living, tropical environment, English-speaking population, and “outdoor beauty” as pensioners’ reasons in patronizing the country’s retirement amenities.

Baldoz, who was recently named by the UN as one of the Commissioners in the UN-High Level Commission on Health, Employment, and Economic Growth, market-pitched the country’s retirement haven stature as she reiterated her call to high-income countries to invest in human resources development in healthcare in developing countries.

“This must be a response to the challenge of the WHO projection of 40 million new healthcare jobs to be created in these countries and to the 18 million shortage in healthcare workers in low and lower middle-income countries by 2030,” Baldoz said.

The Secretary said the country’s health care workforce could meet the demands of countries with aging populations.

In her recent working visit to Japan, Baldoz had proposed to the Japanese a technical cooperation program on education and training of Filipino nurses and caregivers using Japanese standards, especially on geriatric care leading to mutual recognition arrangements.

Baldoz also informed that a similar technical cooperation program is being worked out with Germany in support of the Germany-Philippines Triple Win Project under which Germany sources its healthcare worker needs from the Philippines.

The technical cooperation program, to be worked out with labor, health, education authorities, and private sector hospitals and elderly care institutions, will involve the development of policies on ladderized national training certification for caregivers and care workers; conduct of researches and studies on the German labor market; development of curriculum for geriatric care and elective German language training; and setting up of recognized German language centers in the Visayas and Mindanao.

“It will be a different perspective if foreign retirees -- instead of our health care workers leaving the country to work abroad  -- would come to the Philippines to avail not only of our touristy amenities but also of the distinct brand of healthcare provided by our medical and allied field professionals and workers,” Baldoz said.

interaksyon

Philippines - LASON SA TAG-ULAN | EcoWaste warns of 'toxic raincoats'

MANILA, Philippines -- With the rainy season has officially here, an environmental watchdog is warning parents to be careful about choosing raincoats for their children.

The EcoWaste Coalition singled out raincoats made of polyvinyl chloride, more known as PVC, plastic, which it said “contains numerous toxic additives that are released to the environment over the lifespan of the product.”

Among these is lead, which “can harm the brain and the central nervous system, as well as disrupt the normal function of the endocrine system.”

The group issued the warning “after receiving laboratory confirmation that five out of six samples of PVC rain coats the group bought for P130 to P200 each from discount stores in Divisoria, Manila and Baclaran, Pasay City contain excessive lead.”

EcoWaste regularly scours markets and stores, usually for cheap and popular children's products, and has these tested for toxic content.

The analysis performed by global testing company SGS showed the five samples containing lead “in the range of 164 parts per million (ppm) to 574 ppm, way above the permissible limit of 100 ppm for lead in accessible substrate materials under the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.”

The samples that tested toxic were:

1. A yellow “Tweety Bird” raincoat found to have 574 ppm of lead
2. A yellow student raincoat with 243 ppm of lead
3. A yellow “Winnie the Pooh” raincoat with 217 ppm of lead
4. Another brand of yellow “Tweety Bird” raincoat with 190 ppm of lead
5. A blue “Mickey Mouse” raincoat with 164 ppm of lead

“While it’s true these raincoats can prevent kids from getting wet, the lead and other hazardous substances on the PVC plastic material or design may make them sick in the long term and pollute the environment as well,” warned Thony Dizon, coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect, in a statement released by the group.

Dizon noted that children are “more vulnerable to environmental toxins because they breathe more air, eat more food and drink more water, and are often exposed to harmful substances resulting from their usual hand-to-mouth activities, and because their vital organs and systems are still developing.”

Lead, in particular, can damage or retard brain development and cause health problems, learning disabilities, lower IQ scores, shorter attention span, poor impulse control and aggressive behavior.

EcoWaste urged parnets to “look for non-PVC rain gears such as those made from alternative rain-repulsing materials with least toxic components.”

It also advised them to check the products used by their children for wear and tear and remind them to  “their hands thoroughly after playing and before eating.”

On the other hand, it urged manufacturers of children’s products to:

1. Phase out lead and other toxic chemicals in the production process and shift to safer ingredients.
2. Disclose chemical content information of their product as a condition for sale.
3. Respect the consumers’ “right to know” about chemicals in products, including the provision of complete and truthful labeling to promote consumer choice.

InterAksyon.com

Philippines - HIV and the Philippines' population policy

In less than four weeks, the Philippines is likely to set a new and disturbing record: For the first time, the number of new HIV-infected individuals will top 3,000 in a single year.

This alarming total is twice that of the number of new HIV cases recorded only two years ago—and Alberto Romualdez, health secretary during the the previous Joseph Estrada administration, thinks he knows why:

“Unfortunately, we changed leaderships in 2001, and the new [administration] under the influence of the Church put an embargo on the procurement of [reproductive health] supplies by the national government,” Romualdez told reporters on the sidelines of a Senate forum the other day. The ban applied to one of the more effective protections against HIV protection and the spread of AIDS: the simple condom.

“That’s the connection. It was in 2001 when the procurement stopped, so the government was not able to [restock] the products that were being phased out by USAID and other donors. In 2006, when the supplies finally ran out, the incidence of HIV began to climb.”

These are loaded words; does Romualdez have the supporting data? The monthly disease surveillance reports of the Department of Health, the latest of which brings the data up to October 2012, suggest that Romualdez is in fact on to something.

In the first half of the Gloria Arroyo presidency, the number of HIV cases rose only slightly from year to year: from 174 in 2001 to 210 in 2005. The year 2006 saw a big jump of about 50 per cent, to 309. And then the dam broke: 342 in 2007, then up 54 per cent to 528 cases in 2008, up 58 per cent to 835 in 2009, up a staggering 90 per cent to 1,591 HIV cases in 2010.

To be sure, the Benigno Aquino administration took over in the middle of 2010, and the record of the last two years has been disappointing. The growth rate has slowed down considerably, but in absolute terms the numbers remain dismal. Last year, the annual total of new HIV patients rose 47 per cent to 2,349; this year, at the rate new cases are recorded every month, the full total may reach 3,200 or so—an increase of about 36 per cent.

All of which beg the question: Is this the new normal? Even if the Department of Health (DOH) manages to stabilise the alarming growth rate in new infections, has the HIV situation in the country reached a tipping point? Even if the restocked RH supplies reach more and more Filipinos at risk, we may still be looking at 2,000 to 3,000 new HIV-infected individuals every year.

“The purchase order [for condoms] …. was stopped because of pressure from the Church,” Romualdez has said. This assertion needs to be verified, but the reality is, Church opposition to contraceptives is no secret. After its legitimacy crisis erupted in 2005, the Arroyo administration deliberately courted the support of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines by moving heaven and earth on the two social issues dearest to the CBCP: the death penalty and reproductive health. The real surprise would be if Arroyo did not succumb to pressure from the bishops.

But the DOH statistics should prompt the leaders of the Catholic Church to examine their conscience, and to review their position on the vexing issue of HIV and AIDS.

The numbers clearly show that the Church’s view on condoms, as symbolic of a pernicious “contraceptive mentality”, as a policy measure that would only encourage promiscuity and even greater moral irresponsibility, has real-world consequences.

Unless the leaders of the Church are prepared to question the validity itself of the DOH statistics, they should humbly accept the unavoidable conclusion that the no-condom policy they favour has put more Filipino lives—thousands more every year—at great risk. Christian duty requires nothing less.

This is not to say that the statistics have made the issue less complicated. On the contrary, very personal (and therefore moral) reasons explain the explosion in HIV cases. But the role of a truly compassionate Church is not to pass judgement or to add to the ranks of the vulnerable; it is to care for the sick, and lessen their suffering.

Editorial Desk 

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines - Breast cancer is the most prevalent in PH

MANILA, Philippines — Breast cancer has overtaken lung cancer as the most prevalent form of cancer in the country, the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO) warned Wednesday.

Doctor Felycette Gay Lapus, PSMO president, also said that the Philippines had the lowest survival rate of people with breast cancer among 15 Asia countries.

“So, we are number one for breast cancer in Asia. Three out of 100 (Filipino) women will get breast cancer before age 75 and one out of 100 will die before reaching 75,” Lapus said at a PSMO press conference in Edsa Shangri-La hotel in collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Roche.

The medical community has designated October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“(Breast cancer accounts) for 15 percent of all new cancer cases (in the Philippines) for both sexes and eight percent of all cancer deaths. So, you can just imagine the magnitude of the problem,” Lapus said.

With these distressing statistics, Lapus emphasized the importance of women checking their breasts for lumps every month and to have them checked by their physicians annually.

“We can’t stress enough the importance of early detection in breast cancer management. This is especially true now when there are options for treatment that weren’t available to everyone before,” she said.

Lapus said that PhilHealth, under its “Z Package,” now provides P100,000 for members who are in the early stages of breast cancer. They also need not go to Manila if they are in far-flung areas as PhilHealth has designated hospitals across the country where people with breast cancer can seek treatment.

“The earlier the cancer is detected, diagnosed, and treated by the team of medical oncologists the better the success rates. Treatment for early breast cancer, stages 0-3, is very important in terms of survival,” she said.

Doctor Corazon A. Ngelangel, of the Philippine General Hospital, said doctors were still trying to find out why breast cancer had overtaken lung cancer as the most common form of cancer in the country.

Philip C. Tubeza

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines - Philippines issues alert on new SARS strain

The Philippines has been alerted to a new strain dubbed the “coronavirus,” which the World Health Organisation (WHO) says belongs to the large family of viruses that cause the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said it was mere “coincidence” the new strain had the same name as impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“The DOH (Department of Health) is also watching it closely because it’s a SARS-like virus, which is called the coronavirus,” said Valte, who added in a Sunday radio interview that two cases had been detected abroad.

She said the temperature-sensing machines put up in the arrivals concourses of the country’s international airports to detect possible SARS carriers continued to do the job.

“So the team from the Bureau of Quarantine…are also on alert to any possible other illnesses that may be carried by citizens or tourists who come to the country,” said Valte.

Told the strain was believed to have originated in the Middle East, she said: “I am not quite sure about the origin, but certainly the DOH will be giving a warning if necessary. As in the past, when we have dealt with illnesses like that, the DOH has always been forthcoming with the information.”

In a statement Saturday, the WHO denied person-to-person transmission thus far of the coronavirus which has killed one person and left another in critical situation.

In a news update, the WHO said it continued to monitor the situation involving a Qatari man and a Saudi Arabian national.

“No additional confirmed cases have been reported and there is no evidence so far of person to person transmission of the novel coronavirus. It should be noted that this case definition was developed based on data from two confirmed cases and, as such, some degree of clinical judgement is required where individual cases are concerned,” it said.

The WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this new strain, “nor does it recommend that any travel or trade restrictions are applied,” it added.

Michael Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Philippines - Vaccine offers 5-year immunity versus dengue

Based on the initial results of ongoing local clinical tests, a vaccine developed by a French pharmaceutical company can provide protection against four strains of the deadly dengue virus for five years and without visible side effects.

This was the welcome announcement made Wednesday by an infectious disease specialist who is a member of the clinical trial team.

"Most of the subjects [who were given the complete vaccine or all three doses] have proven to be immune against dengue for five years with no side effect which shows a lot of promise for the vaccine," Dr. Maria Rosario Capeding of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) told the Inquirer.

During Wednesday's forum of the Philippine Pediatrics Society (PPS) Inc., Capeding said that they expected to complete final tests on the vaccine by the end of the year. (See related story on Page A24.)

According to her, of the more than 3,000 subjects in the clinical tests conducted in Manila, close to half received all three doses of the vaccine developed by Sanofi Pasteur Inc. Most of the participants were between the ages of 2 and 45 and residents of the cities of Manila, San Pablo and Cebu.

Capeding described the vaccine as tetravalent or designed to protect against all four dengue virus strains.

During the forum, she also clarified that experts have yet to discover a cure for the deadly illness as she stressed that what was important was for the patient to be immediately brought to a medical facility as soon as symptoms such as fever, headaches, joint pains, stomachaches and vomiting appear.

Capeding, meanwhile, said that experiments were still being conducted on the efficacy of certain plants or herbs, particularly "tawa-tawa," against dengue or other viruses.

"We are trying to determine their potency and the toxins they possess which could have an effect on viruses," she said as she added, "There is still no advisory on the use of tawa-tawa so it is possible that its reported effect of increasing the blood platelet [count] could [just] be a coincidence."

Jeannette I. Andrade

Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network

Philippines - RH Bill: silver bullet to rising maternal deaths

PHILIPPINES – Sen. Pia Cayetano believes the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill would give priority to the plight and burden of Filipino mothers.

In a statement on World Population Day on Wednesday, Cayetano said this year’s theme of “Universal Access to Reproductive Health Services” emphasizes the need for an RH law to help bring down the number of maternal deaths.

“On World Population Day, let’s prioritize the plight and burden of Filipino mothers,” she said.

“They are the ones who risk their life to bear new life, carry the primary burden of ensuring the health, education and welfare of their children, and balance the family’s meager resources to survive from day-to-day.”

Cayetano said the situation of Filipino mothers has gone from bad to worse over the past few years as indicated in the rise of maternal deaths.

“This should be reason compelling enough for any fair-minded legislator to support the enactment of the RH bill, which would allow mothers universal access to reproductive health services of the government,” she said.

“As more and more of our colleagues are enlightened on the importance and urgency of implementing a national reproductive health policy, we expect the RH bill to finally hurdle the obstacles and see passage soon after Congress reopens its session.”

Cayetano said the RH bill would prevent more maternal deaths by expanding access to the following services: natural and artificial family planning services to allow mothers to plan and space their pregnancies; prenatal care to ensure the mother’s health and nutrition, and allow for early detection of complications; safe and modern birthing facilities manned by health professionals to ensure safe deliveries; and postpartum services to monitor and address complications after delivery.

“Based on the FHS, prevalence in the use of modern contraceptives is much lower for married women belonging to poor households compared to those belonging to non-poor households,” she said.

Cayetano said a disparity exists in the use of contraceptives between married women with little or no education and those with higher levels of education.

“What these figures prove is that clearly, there’s a very huge unmet need for reproductive health services for women in general, but more so, for those who come from the poorest families and those who are less educated,” she said.

“There clearly is an urgent material need for an RH Law, but its hard-line critics refuse to see the reality. They refuse to lift a finger to help alleviate the condition of Filipino mothers despite the alarming rise in maternal deaths. It’s high time we end this vicious cycle where mothers are callously denied access to reproductive health services, which is their right and need. It’s high time to pass the RH bill.”

Cayetano and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago are the principal authors of the RH bill.

It would be considered for approval on second reading when Congress resumes session later this month.

Source: ABS-CBN News

Philippines - DOH taps wireless technologies for health care

PHILIPPINES – The Department of Health (DOH) and Smart Communications have teamed up to use a range of mobile solutions to help Filipinos get equitable and accessible health care.

DOH Assistant Secretary Gerardo Bayugo cited the need to innovate its communication in the digital age to provide equal and accessible health care for all.

“We are confident that wireless technologies and other innovations enable us to respond immediately to the health concerns of Filipinos,” he said.

Highlighting the initiatives, which were presented during the DOH’s 114th anniversary celebration, is the Infoboard that can broadcast health updates via SMS.

“(Infoboard) technology enable(s) institutions such as the DOH to broadcast health news, updates, health campaigns via subscribed text broadcasts and speedy reporting for citizen concerns, questions, surveys or disease monitoring to Filipinos, straight to the Smart mobile phones of subscribed individual members, anytime and anywhere,” Smart said.

Smart wireless community solutions manager Louie de Guzman said this technology was mainly developed for disaster mitigation and prevention and schools.

However, he said the InfoBoard has several other uses and has been implemented in sports, gated communities, and real estate.

“Now, government agencies such as the DOH can take advantage of the Infoboard to efficiently broadcast timely, relevant, and accurate health care-related information such as advisories on dengue prevention month, vaccination reminders and health seminars,” he said.

Another wireless service is the mobile health (mHealth) program that will enhance efficiency and clinics and health centers.

On the other hand, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Smart’s parent company, inaugurated its first contact center service with hotline number 165-DOH (165-364) that will merge all phone calls on inquiries on health care concerns and issues.

“This hotline covers all mobile and landline calls from anywhere in the country,” Smart said.

Smart noted it is so far the only wireless services provider in the Philippines that has significantly invested in mHealth services.

In June 2011, it launched its flagship mHealth program called Secured Health Information Network and Exchange (SHINE), a web and mobile based system for health facilities and practitioners.

SHINE allows for electronic medical records, inter-facility referrals, text message reminders and report generation.

“These services are especially relevant now as they are rolling out a lot of programs that will require faster communications and information dissemination. We want to enable people and communities to reach their potential of universal healthcare access for all,” said Darwin Flores, Smart’s senior manager for community partnerships.

Source: GMA News

Philippines - DOH issues update on HFMD reports

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) said Thursday that hospitals continue to report suspected cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).

The DOH, however, clarified that hospitals have been reporting HFMD cases because of its instructions and "not because of an outbreak."

Health Secretary Enrique T. Ona had earlier instructed the DOH National Epidemiology Center to include Enterovirus 71 (EV-71) as a notifiable disease "to compel health providers, especially health physicians, to report individual cases or even outbreaks."

What causes HFMD?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), HFMD is caused by viruses from the group called enteroviruses. They may be polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, echoviruses and other enteroviruses.

"HFMD is most commonly caused by coxsackievirus A16 which usually results in a mild self-limiting disease with few complications. However, HFMD is also caused by Enteroviruses, including EV-71which has been associated with serious complications, and may be fatal," the WHO said.

The DOH said that HFMD is moderately contagious and spreads through fecal-oral route and from direct contact with secretions from infected person. It is different from the foot and mouth disease in animals.

HFMD commonly affects young children. Its symptoms include mild illness characterized by a few days of fever and appearance of skin rashes or lesions around mouth, hands and feet.

"Severe Enterovirus-71 infections can cause severe neurological disease most recently described in Cambodia, where dozens of children died suddenly despite all efforts provided by hospitals,"  the DOH said.

How to prevent the spread of EV-71

The DOH has encouraged parents and day-care personnel to clean and disinfect toys and teaching tools to prevent the spread of EV-71 among children.

It had likewise advised the public to properly dispose of baby diapers or human waste and practice strict personal hygiene and regular hand-washing.

The DOH said that HFMD outbreaks in several Asian countries have made it an "emerging threat following the almost complete eradication of polio."

Unlike polio, however, there are still no available vaccines against EV-71 infections.

The DOH added that throat specimens from suspected cases are sent to the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine to confirm the presence or absence of the virus.

The National Epidemiology Center was tasked to collect reports from hospitals then report them as part of the Disease Surveillance System.

"Mild cases are seldom hospitalized except for dehydration that occurs when sick child are unable to feed because of mouth sores. Parents should watch out for warning signs such as muscle twitching, paralysis, impaired consciousness as these will require taking care of affected children in hospital setting," the DOH said.

The DOH had reported that two children have been tested positive for enterovirus, but clarified that they were not afflicted with the deadly EV-71 strain.

Ruth Sindico 

http://www.philstar.com/