CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – A twin scourge of dengue and measles in Central Luzon has claimed the lives of 13 folk so far this year, the Department of Health here has reported.
Gio Gueco, chief of the integrated disease surveillance and response unit of the DOH in Central Luzon, told Punto that Nueva Ecija topped in the number of both measles and dengue in the region.
Gueco said, however, that the higher number of dengue cases this year, as compared to the cases as of March last year, could be the result of better reporting from both government and private hospitals. “We have just trained more personnel in these hospitals on better system of reporting to the DOH regional office,” > he said.
Gueco noted that the 1,330 dengue cases since January in Central Luzon is higher than the 419 such cases as of March, 2010.
However, he expressed concern over the number of cases, as he noted that the country has yet to enter the rainy season when the number of cases usually peak.
Statistics as of yesterday indicated 485 cases of dengue in Nueva Ecija, 394 in Pampanga, 175 in Bataan, 129 in Tarlac, 76 in Zambales, and 71 in Bulacan. There was no report from Aurora.
Of these mosquito-borne dengue cases, two deaths each were reported in Bataan, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac, and one each in Pampanga and Zambales.
Gueco also reported rising measles cases in Central Luzon this year. He said that since last January, 233 measles cases were reported in Nueva Ecija, 32 in Zambales, 28 in Pampanga, 17 in Bulacan, 13 in Tarlac, 11 in Bataan and four in Aurora.
Measles fatalities included one each in Lupao, Nueva Ecija and in Barangay Cuayan in Angeles City, while the Philippine Information Agency in Bulacan confirmed earlier three deaths reportedly also arising from measles among Dumagat children living in a remote area in San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.
DOH regional director Dr. Rio Magpantay said the measles situation in Carangglan, Lupao and San Jose City in Nueva Ecija has been placed under control.
Magpantay blamed the rising number of preventable measles cases on local government units which fail to immunize children despite free vaccines provided annually by the DOH. “The vaccines are provided for free and the local government spends only for the syringes,” he said.
He said that teams from the DOH is launching a door-to-door measles vaccination campaign in the region to track down children who have not been vaccinated, especially those between six months to 15 months old.
Measles or tigdas is a respiratory infection caused by a virus which can be highly-contagious if treatment is delayed. It causes skin-rashes, induces flu-like symptoms such as running nose, coughing and fever, even as its more common serious and often fatal complications are pneumonia, diarrhea and encephalitis.
The measles virus is spread by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions.
Gio Gueco, chief of the integrated disease surveillance and response unit of the DOH in Central Luzon, told Punto that Nueva Ecija topped in the number of both measles and dengue in the region.
Gueco said, however, that the higher number of dengue cases this year, as compared to the cases as of March last year, could be the result of better reporting from both government and private hospitals. “We have just trained more personnel in these hospitals on better system of reporting to the DOH regional office,” > he said.
Gueco noted that the 1,330 dengue cases since January in Central Luzon is higher than the 419 such cases as of March, 2010.
However, he expressed concern over the number of cases, as he noted that the country has yet to enter the rainy season when the number of cases usually peak.
Statistics as of yesterday indicated 485 cases of dengue in Nueva Ecija, 394 in Pampanga, 175 in Bataan, 129 in Tarlac, 76 in Zambales, and 71 in Bulacan. There was no report from Aurora.
Of these mosquito-borne dengue cases, two deaths each were reported in Bataan, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac, and one each in Pampanga and Zambales.
Gueco also reported rising measles cases in Central Luzon this year. He said that since last January, 233 measles cases were reported in Nueva Ecija, 32 in Zambales, 28 in Pampanga, 17 in Bulacan, 13 in Tarlac, 11 in Bataan and four in Aurora.
Measles fatalities included one each in Lupao, Nueva Ecija and in Barangay Cuayan in Angeles City, while the Philippine Information Agency in Bulacan confirmed earlier three deaths reportedly also arising from measles among Dumagat children living in a remote area in San Jose del Monte in Bulacan.
DOH regional director Dr. Rio Magpantay said the measles situation in Carangglan, Lupao and San Jose City in Nueva Ecija has been placed under control.
Magpantay blamed the rising number of preventable measles cases on local government units which fail to immunize children despite free vaccines provided annually by the DOH. “The vaccines are provided for free and the local government spends only for the syringes,” he said.
He said that teams from the DOH is launching a door-to-door measles vaccination campaign in the region to track down children who have not been vaccinated, especially those between six months to 15 months old.
Measles or tigdas is a respiratory infection caused by a virus which can be highly-contagious if treatment is delayed. It causes skin-rashes, induces flu-like symptoms such as running nose, coughing and fever, even as its more common serious and often fatal complications are pneumonia, diarrhea and encephalitis.
The measles virus is spread by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact or direct contact with infected nasal or throat secretions.
