16,000 measles cases recorded by DoH
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Mon, 04 Mar 2019 07:37:06 +0000
Measles cases continue to rise as the Department of Health recorded 1,411 new measles cases, bringing the total number of cases to more than 16,000 since January.
Data from the Epidemiology Bureau of the department showed that from January to March 2 this year, 16,349 measles cases were documented.
Children aged less than nine months to four-years-old were the most affected age group.
Of the total documented cases, 9,975 were not vaccinated; 3,028 cases received unknown number of doses; 2,686 cases have unknown vaccination status, while the rest either received one or two vaccine doses.
There were 261 recorded deaths, where 80 percent or 209 were not vaccinated.
Most of the deaths were recorded in National Capital Region and Region 4-A with 78 ad 76 deaths, respectively.
Thirty-six deaths were recorded in Central Luzon; 22 deaths were documented in Eastern Visayas; and 10 deaths were reported in the Ilocos region.
In February, the Health department declared a measles outbreak in Metro Manila following the number of measles cases recorded at the San Lazaro Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila.
The outbreak declared in Metro Manila later widened to four regions – Region 4-A, Central Luzon, Western Visayas, and Central Visayas. (Betheena Kae Unite)