An interesting news about Moira dela Torre and her song cover. It isn't just been known locally but will be reaching more ears. Moira’s “You Are My Sunshine” rendition gave a touching accompaniment to a high school video that won in the Elks Drug Awareness Program in the United States because of its throbbing depiction of how drug use affects families and leads to loss of loved ones.

The “Sunshine” video—featuring a progression of a precious baby girl into a rebellious teenager who got entangled in drug use—received the National Award for Best High School Video Public Service Announcement in August this year.

Moira’s heartwarming recording, released as part of the soundtrack of the 2018 Filipino film “Meet Me in St. Gallen,” was used in the “Sunshine” video directed by Sandy Beach (EMHS ’19) representing El Modena High School in California and produced by EMTV.

The contest organizer, Elks Drug Awareness Program, later partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration of the U.S. Department of Justice and a popular YouTube channel, FBE (19M subscribers), to produce a reaction video which features the winning video, “Sunshine,” as well as some former drug addicts talking about their painful journey and recovery.

Listen to Moira’s touching rendition of “You Are My Sunshine” and check out the “Sunshine” video here. For more details on the Filipina singer’s latest music, follow @Starmusicph on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

It seems that mosquito does has the habit of carrying diseases with them and unfortunately, with the number of species that they the more types of diseases will be infecting humans and animals. One type of diseases that are carried by the mosquito is called the Japanese Encephalitis which is viral and commonly affects the children.

When I heard about this I was at thought because I didn't know that aside from dengue and malaria there are other diseases that are caused and transferred by the mosquito. And knowing what it can do to children or human perse is alarming. It's great that there are groups and organizations that pushes the awareness of such health issues and sharing the idea of how to address these kind of problem.

Here's an information shared and given out by the doctors and experts during the media briefing held at Dusit Thani Hotel.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a leading cause of viral encephalitis in Asia. Transmitted by the mosquito vector Culextritaeniorhynchus, the virus can cause inflammation of the brain, leading to high fever, headache, fatigue, vomiting, confusion, and in severe cases, seizures, spastic paralysis, and coma. It could also mimic a stroke, as was the case reported in Davao during the second half of 2016. There is no specific treatment for this disease. JE is fatal in 20 to 30% of cases and among those who survive, 30 to 50% suffer from permanent disabilities.
Reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) have estimated that there are currently 3 billion people at risk for JE, living in JE-prone areas, including 24 countries in the Southeast Asia and Western Pacific regions. JE usually occurs in rural and agricultural areas, however, an epidemiologic study conducted by Dr. Anna Lena Lopez of the National Institute of Health (NIH) published in 2015, showed that the virus circulates in all regions of the Philippines, including urban areas like Metro Manila, constituting a significant public health burden.  The study showed that although majority of cases occur in children younger than 15 years of age, adults remain at risk, with 15% of cases occurring in individuals older than 18 years. In tropical areas, disease can occur year-round. Data from the Department of Health (DOH) Epidemiology Bureau surveillance system revealed that for 2016, among 875 acute meningitis-encephalitis suspected cases reported as of August 2016, 119 (14%) were laboratory-confirmed for JE.

As part of the government’s strategy to reduce mosquito-borne diseases, the 4S program was implemented several years back. 4S stands for: Search and destroy mosquito breeding places, use Self-protection measures, Seek early consultation for fever lasting more than 2 days, and Say yes to fogging when there is an impending outbreak. However, mosquito-borne diseases are still on the rise. According to the WHO, the most effective way of reducing disease burden is vaccination against the illness. The WHO cites that there is clear evidence demonstrating the impact JE vaccination has on disease burden in a population. Hence, the WHO has recommended that JE vaccination be integrated into national immunization schedules in all areas where JE is recognized as a public health problem.

The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) has reviewed data on the different types of JE vaccines (inactivated and live attenuated vaccines) and has found them to have acceptable safety profiles. Local scientific bodies, including the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) and Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines (PIDSP), have recommended that JE vaccination be given as a single primary dose for those 9 months old and above. For individuals less than 18 years of age, this should be followed by a booster dose 1 to 2 years after. Other preventive strategies for disease control include bed nets, repellents, long-sleeved clothes, coils, vaporizers and mosquito control measures.
About the Vaccine, The JE-chimeric vaccine, a live attenuated recombinant vaccine, was first licensed in the Philippines in 2013. The vaccine is produced by Vero cell culture, a cell culture technology recommended by WHO. It is the only JE vaccine available locally and is approved for use for individuals 9 months old and above, with high immunogenicity rates.

Mommies we need to be vigilant nowadays, that mosquito-borne diseases give us scary feeling for our kids. I hope this kind of information give you an enlightenment about JE just like me.  Do follow all the required vaccine for your babies.

In history, myths does have its origin, but in medicine,myths are beliefs that need to be debug because if not life may lead to terminal illnesses or even death. We, Filipinos have so many beliefs that more often we tend to take it lightly and not considers any preventive measures. Sometimes we shrug our shoulders and says 'it was nothing'. Yes, that was nothing for now but eventually will grow something that is irreversible.

One of today's feared life taker is cancer and one of the fast growing in number is the persons with what you call of a terminal cancer, Colon Cancer. In a more scientific term it is called the colorectal disease or commonly known as Colon Cancer. Silent as they are with the symptoms type of cancer is also a silent killer.

A few days ago, the Philippine Society of Enterologist with their sponsor Westmont, a division of Unilab, conducted a media briefing regarding their advocacy, which is the Colon Cancer Awareness and also the upcoming Cancer Awareness month.
The main thrust of the organization is to make a noise regarding Colon Cancer, the myths people believed about it, and the initiative in calling the attention of the government to have every Filipino citizens above 50 years old to be screened. According to DR. FREDERICK DY, Gastronintestinal oncologist and a leading expert in endoscopy, "Colorectal cancer has certainly become a real concern in the Philippines. The growing number of incidence and mortality worldwide have put the disease as the third most common type of cancer for both men and women, after lung and breast cancers."

According to the recent statistics of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) foremost cancer research and statistics project, GLOBOCAN, there were 4,901 deaths of the 8,553 incidences of colorectal cancer in the Philippines in 2012, which means that more than half of those diagnosed have died from the disease.

It is unfortunate that the level of awareness about colorectal cancer here in the Philippines is much lower than that for other types of cancer such as breasts or lungs. Doctors also find difficulty in urging patients to adopt lifestyle changes for the prevention if colorectal cancer. The earlier the better it is prevented.
“Colorectal cancer us influenced by both modifiable and non-modifiable risks, one of which is lifestyle and diet. But as a lifestyle illness, it is also asymptomatic (displaying no symptoms) is the initial stage,” Dr. Dy says.

As what Dr. Dy mentioned, modifiable risk factors are those that can be changed like obesity, cigarette smoking, alcoholic beverage intake, physical inactivity and increased consumption of red meat. A diet rich in animal fat generally increases risk, while eating food rich in fiber and calcium may possible reduce the risk.

Aside from the modifiable risk factors there are also the non-modifiable risks factor in colorectal cancer. Some of these non-modifiable are the gender, age, and family history. According to Dr. Dy these are factors that cannot be altered. These factors are inherent in a person like the family history of the disease and gender.

With the increase in incidences, colon cancer is now among the deadliest, and recent data show that it's not slowing down either.

"Colon cancer doesn't begin as cancer immediately; it starts with pre-malignant precursors called polyps. If left attended, these polyps grow over time, eventually becoming cancer. For young people, the risk is low, but they are not immune to it. We have young adults developing colorectal cancer. The occurrence is generally uncommon, but if someone has symptoms referable to colorectal cancer, no matter the age, they need to see their doctor or better if they consult a gastroenterologist. Most of colorectal cancer occurs sporadically but some have a strong genetic background. There are also genetic syndromes that also develop a significant number of polyps at a younger age," said Dy.
As to what is always said "prevention is the best medicine" and for the Philippine Society of Gastroenterology, they are aiming to inform every Filipino about colon cancer and encourages everyone to have themselves be screened, most especially and a must are those people ages 50 and up. It is preventable all is needed is the cooperation of every Filipino and of course through the help of the government and every individual.

So, for the Colon Cancer Awareness month which will happen this March, let us all be aware and be responsive to the call.