DOH to include vaccine against rotavirus in 2012 projects

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) will include vaccines against rotavirus, a virus that causes severe gastroenteritis, in its immunization program next year.

In a press briefing, DOH Secretary Enrique Ona said some P800 million had been allocated for next year’s anti-rotavirus vaccines for indigent children.

“If there is one thing that we should focus our attention on, it should be rotavirus. Many children are dying because of it. Some 40 percent of children have it,” Ona said.

Dr. Lulu Bravo, executive director of University of the Philippines-Manila’s National Institute of Health, said rotavirus is a “neglected” virus but it is one of the leading killers of Filipino children.

“Many of us neglect rotavirus. Some 3,500 Filipino kids below five years old die from diarrhea but half of them have actually died because of rotavirus,” she said.

Rotavirus was described by Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its website as a “virus that causes gastroenteritis or the inflammation of the stomach and intestines.”

“The rotavirus disease causes severe watery diarrhea, often with vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain. In babies and young children, it can lead to dehydration (loss of body fluids). Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children worldwide,” the website reported.

Bravo said that if the Philippines integrates rotavirus in its expanded immunization program, it would be the first country in Southeast Asia to do so.

A shot of anti-rotavirus vaccine costs some P1,500 to P3,000 in private hospitals and clinics. Depending on the brand, two or three doses of the vaccine must be given to an infant within the first six weeks to six months of life.