The measles outbreak has spread to another region in the Philippines.
The Department of Health (DOH) declared a measles outbreak today in Region II (Cagayan Valley) following the death of an 8-month old child and the emergence of 82 other reported cases as of yesterday.
Region II health director Dr. Rio Magpantay said today that the age group of those most affected are from one to five years old, CNN Philippines reported.
The Cagayan Valley region is composed of five provinces: Cagayan, Isabela, Batanes, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino.
DZRH reported that the areas of Cagayan has 30 cases, Isabela recorded 25 cases, Nueva Vizcaya with 17 cases, and Quirino province with 10 cases of measles. Meanwhile, Batanes is the only province in the region without a measles outbreak.
Newborns as young as 22 days and adults up to 37 years old have contracted the disease in the Cagayan province alone.
From 11 cases which were recorded from January to February last year, the number spiked to 66 during the same period of 2019, GMA News reported.
Health officials are currently doing mass immunization drives in the region to prevent the spread of the disease.
Magpantay said they’ve been implementing an immunization program even before the outbreak was declared but some parents have refused to participate in it. “We really started our outbreak response immunization even before they declared a measles outbreak here,” he said on CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Ngayon.
“We assigned and spoke to the local government units to have children vaccinated however in some areas where parents refused, there may have been a misunderstanding. That is what we are looking into now,” he added.
The health official also said they have been implementing an immunization program and reaching out to parents to have their children vaccinated even before the outbreak was declared. However, some parents refused to avail of the program.
Earlier this month, the DOH declared a measles outbreak in Metro Manila and Central Luzon. The outbreak is also present in other areas in Luzon island and as well as in parts of the Visayas.
The DOH said there were fewer children getting vaccinated due to the controversy surrounding the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia, which Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida Acosta blamed for the deaths of hundreds of children. However, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said there was no link between Dengvaxia and the deaths of the supposed victims.
Immunization rates in the country plunged to 40 percent last year from the average 70 percent in recent years, which many credited to the Dengavia scare.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by a virus, the DOH said. It is transferred from one person to another through sneezing, coughing, and close personal contact. Symptoms include coughs, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rashes that last more than three days.
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