CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Department of Health (DOH) has reported a 112 percent increase in measles cases in Central Luzon. The DOH figures were based on field reports gathered from all over the region last year, as compared to statistics in 2012.
“There were 432 cases last year, significantly higher than the 204 cases reported in 2012,” DOH Expanded
Program on Immunization head Lailani Mangulabnan noted. She noted that the cases covered suspected measles cases that included 110 which were confirmed in laboratories.
Of the total, 62 cases occurred in the last two months of 2013. Pampanga led with the most number of cases at 42, followed by Bulacan with 19, Nueva Ecija with 16, Tarlac with 14 and Zambales with 10. Aurora reported no case. DOH Regional Director Leonita Gorgolon blamed low coverage of immunization for the rise in the measles cases.
But she assured the public that there was no measles outbreak in the region and that there was no cause for alarm, even as she noted that cases in Metro Manila were even higher. “Our surveillance report shows that no fatalities were recorded to date. So it is safe to say that here in the region, we have contained the disease,” Gorgolon stressed.
Measles is a highly infectious and highly communicable disease caused by the measles virus. Symptoms include high fever, cough, conjunctivitis and colds. If not properly managed, it can lead to complications such as blindness, encephalitis, pneumonia, diarrhea and even death.
