Philippines health officials are reporting an additional 1571 measles cases during the past 5 days. From the beginning of the year through Mar. 19, 22,967 cases have been reported nationwide. In addition, the number of measles fatalities has risen to 333.
Six regions have reported greater than 1000 cases to date-CALABARZON (4740), NCR, or Metro Manila (4512), Central Luzon (3640), Western Visayas (1323), Northern Mindanao (1139) and Central Visayas (1090).
In the province of Rizal in CALABARZON region, DOH 4-A gathered Rizal’s local government officials for an emergency command conference on measles Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
“We have the capability, we have the manpower, the funds and logistics, there should be no excuse. We need to collectively ensure and commit to bring back herd immunity to 95 percent. Let’s be 10 steps ahead so as to prevent the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases,” Duque said.
According to the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU), Rizal had 2,737 measles cases with 121 deaths from January 1 to March 19, 2019. This figure is 7,503 percent higher compared to the same period last year with 13 measles cases and six recorded deaths. Antipolo City has the highest number of cases in the province at 1,007 and 32 deaths.
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