Just this February, the official announcement of Measles here in the Philippines was officially declared by the Philippine government. Madami ng regions dito sa Pilipinas ang naapektuhan nito. Napaka laki na ng tinaas na porsyento ng mga batang nagkakaroon ng measles; mula sa 2,428 noong 2017, ay naging 18,407 noong 2018. There are many doctors who have started to bring out all the research and knowledge they have to help parents fight off this fast-spreading disease. But what is measles?
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus. It can result in serious health complications, such as pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and even cause of death." Ito ay nakakatakot na sakit at ngayon nakikita natin mismo sa telebisyon at dyaryo ang mabilis na pagkalat nito. May mga basta na din na namamatay dahil sa sakit na ito ngayong taon. Pero paano nga ba nakukuha ang measles?
In the website of the World Health Organization (WHO) makikita na, lahat ng tao ay posibleng magkaron ng measles. Anyone at any age can acquire measles. But, once you get the disease and survive it, you will never have it again; habang buhay ka ng immune dito. Mababa ang mortality rate ng measles, but children and adults who do have weak immune systems have higher risks of death if they have measles. There many cases all around the world that show that death can occur when one gets measles. Mas madaming prone to risk na mga bata kasi mahina pa ang kanilang immune system.
Nababasa natin at naririnig natin sa madaming news sites, government departments, at libro na dapat bakunahan natin ang ating mga anak. Pero, bakit nga ba ito ang gustong aksyon na gawin natin ng mga autoridad kagaya ng Department of Health (DOH)? What is the good in getting our children, or even ourselves, vaccinated? Vaccines are the easiest way to prevent someone from getting measles. Ang ginagawa nito ay nagbibigay ito ng mas mahina na bersyon ng measles. So, think if it as training your body how to fight off the measles infection. This is why doctors recommend parents to let their children get vaccinated. Many doctors have looked into the research behind vaccines and fully support its cause. Vaccines contains weakened version of the disease so that in the long run when the actual disease comes in contact with you, the antibodies, which fight off anything harmful, have already formed and can fight it off without you ever getting the actual disease. There are short term side effects like rashes however, it’s not deadly and infectious.
Sa ngayon, ginagawa ng lahat ng departamento, lalo na ng DOH, ang lahat ng kaya nito ng gawin upang mahikayat ang mga tao na bakunahan nila ang kanilang anak. DOH is currently campaigning for immunization-- encouraging people to fight off measles via vaccination means. It is currently conducting an Outbreak Response Immunization (ORI) on the regions where measles have spread.
As this disease is still continuously spreading, we must learn to learn! We have to trust the scientist and doctors who have spent years in studying diseases such as this. Huwag na natin hintayan na magkaroon pa ng measles ang ating anak bago tayo umaksyon at mang hinayang.