Progress in public health means increasing the adoption, over time, of practices that enhance wellness. Recent reports showing more parents opting out of immunizations for their children — in Hawaii and other states — is not a trend line that bodes well for keiki health.

The Associated Press has compiled figures, released this week, from the Centers for Disease Control as well as state health departments. The bottom line for isle readers: Hawaii is one of 10 states where the rate of exemptions being sought from immunizations has risen by at least 1.5 percent between the 2006-2007 and the 2010-2011 school years.

That is anything but progress, and it raises justifiable concerns that the embers of childhood diseases long believed to be extinguished could be stoked into new outbreaks.

Many consider it unlikely that illnesses such as polio and diphtheria could be resurgent, but Dr. Lance Rodewald, an immunization expert, told the AP that polio came back in China after two decades of being free of that disease, as a result of infection from Pakistan.

And if people think such things could never happen in developed nation such as the U.S., they should think again. At the very least, that’s not a chance this country should take.

The state Department of Health has posted answers to frequently asked questions about childhood immunization requirements (hawaii.gov/health/Immunization/SHR_FAQ.html). Some of the core issues:

» Tuberculosis clearance must be completed within one year before a child’s first entrance into school in Hawaii. Infants in care settings before age 12 months must submit a TB certificate before reaching 14 months of age.

» Required immunizations for preschool attendance are the diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis combination, polio, the measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) combination, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenzae type B and varicella, or chicken pox.

» Before entering grades kindergarten-12, children must be up-to-date on the diphtheria and measles series, polio, hepatitis B and chicken pox.

Some parents have backed away from these requirements, and there are allowances for religious and medical exemptions (certain health conditions are incompatible with the immunizations). But beyond such objections, some have allowed misinformation on the risks to sway them. The CDC has attempted to correct this through information on its own website.

For example, a brochure available for downloading addresses the concern among some parents that the MMR vaccine is linked with autism. Many still cite a 1998 study published in the British journal called the Lancet that asserted such a theory. However, according to the CDC, this has been discredited by a later, more complete study; 10 of the 13 Lancet authors have withdrawn their support for the article.

No medical doctor would deny that immunizations carry slightly elevated risk of side effects, and parents should be informed about that. But they also need the reasoned perspective that the risks of the diseases themselves are, by comparison, far worse.

It’s disconcerting that a reversal seems in the works on immunizations that are well established, and public health authorities must do their part to arrest that slide through educational outreach.

But Hawaii’s parents and guardians also owe the children in their charge the duty of making decisions that are based on facts, not irrational fears.