Measles cases in NegOcc soar by 1,700% with five deaths

By: Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – The Provincial Health Office (PHO) of Negros Occidental reported that five persons died of measles since January 2019.

Based on PHO’s record as of June 15, two fatalities are from Escalante City and one each in the cities of Bago, Sagay, and Talisay.

Records also show that measles cases since January 2019 spiked by 1,700 percent – from 43 in January to June 2018 to 772 so far this year.

San Carlos City has the most number of cases with 93.

The PHO report also noted that most of the patients were children between 1 and 4 years old. Also, 57 percent of the patients did not undergo prior vaccination.

The provincial government had already approved a resolution supporting the implementation of measles quick response activities to address the measles outbreak earlier this year.

According to the resolution, the Department of Health-Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) for Western Visayas issued an advisory calling on the need to interrupt transmission of measles, stressing the necessity for “catch-up immunizations” and to strengthen measles surveillance advocacy.