Health office on alert against measles

BACOLOD City – The City Health Office (CHO) in Bacolod City is on alert against measles after the Department of Health (DOH) declared an outbreak of the infection in Western Visayas.

In a Facebook post, Councilor Em Legaspi Ang said she recently met with CHO officials to discuss measures in response to measles.

Ang said the CHO and barangay health centers will continue to strengthen the campaign for immunization, conduct surveillance of news cases, and carry out the orders issued by DOH for mothers and caregivers to be more vigilant.

A vaccination desk will also be set up by the CHO to give free measles immunization to all city employees and health care personnel.

Earlier, CHO Environment and Sanitation Division head, Dr. Grace Tan, said they do not have any confirmed cases of measles in the city but there are currently 41 “suspected” cases being verified by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Tan said they are currently monitoring for measles and have requested local hospitals, health centers, and private medical clinics to immediately submit the patient’s records if they exhibit a fever and rash in order to obtain a specimen, which would then be submitted to the RITM.

Tan also appealed to parents to vaccinate their children against measles, warning its complications are very difficult to treat and could be lethal to children if they are unvaccinated.

The DOH in Western Visayas recorded 104 measles cases, with three fatalities, so far in 2019 compared to 16 cases last year.