ILOILO – From January to June 7 this year, the Department of Health (DOH) has recorded 2,366 suspected cases of measles in Western Visayas, with six deaths.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. Initial symptoms, which usually appear between 10 to 12 days after infection, include high fever, a runny nose, bloodshot eyes, tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth, and rashes on the face and upper neck gradually spreading downwards.
DOH data showed Negros Occidental having the most number of suspected cases (679, with four deaths) followed by Iloilo (640), Antique (345, with one death), Aklan (159), Capiz (155, with one death), Guimaras (26), Bacolod City (192), Iloilo City (137), and others (33).
The figures gathered from January to June 7 were 1,077 percent higher than the suspected measles cases reported in the same period last year (201).
Of the 2,366 suspected measles cases, 197 have so far been confirmed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) based in Metro Manila.
According to DOH Region 6, 52.79 percent of patients (1,249) were males while 47.21 percent (1,117) were females.
The measles virus is transmitted via droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected persons.
While the figures appeared to have increased, Dr. Mary Jane Roches Juanico, DOH-6 medical officer III, clarified that the frequency of reports about suspected cases from across the region actually slowed down.
This was a good sign, she said, that the measles vaccination campaign (covering children from six months to 59 months old) of the department was starting to take effect.
DOH-6 records showed 92 percent or 450,638 children in the region have been immunized against measles since April. The target is 595,023 children./PN
