DOH probes if measles virus from abroad causing rise in cases MANILA – Is the measles virus causing an increase in the number of cases f...
DOH probes if measles virus from abroad causing rise in cases
MANILA – Is the measles virus causing an increase in the number of cases from abroad? This is what the Department of Health (DOH) is now looking into.
According to DOH Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag, the DOH-run Research Institute for Tropical Medicine has been examining blood samples taken from patients to determine what cause the outbreaks of measles in several parts of the country.
“Isa yan sa mga tinitingnan. Baka may virus na matatagpuan lang sa ibang bansa pero nandito na din sa atin. Sa ngayon wala pang confirmation dyan (That is one of the things being looked into. A virus found elsewhere might already be in the country. Right now, there is no confirmation),” he said.
Tayag said the DOH would be meeting with the city and town health officers in Metro Manila to assess the situation and map out plans to control the spread of measles.
Metro Manila accounts for 744 of the 1,724 cases recorded by the DOH from Jan. 1 to Dec. 21. This includes 21 deaths that have been laboratory confirmed at the San Lazaro Hospital as measles.
The areas in Metro Manila that that are now having measles outbreaks are Dagat-dagatan and Bagong Barrio in Caloocan City; Talong Singko, Talon Dos, and Pamplona 1 in Las Pinas; Longos and Tonsuya in Malabon; Quiapo, Sampaloc, Tondo, Sta. Cruz, Binondo, Sta. Mesa, and Port Area in Manila; Alabang and Putatan in Muntinlupa; North Bay Boulevard South in Navotas; Moonwalk and Don Bosco in Paranaque; Bagong Tanyag in Taguig and Ugong in Valenzuela.
Tayag has urged all parents to have their children, who are five years old and below, vaccinated for free at the health centers across the country.
He posted in his Twitter account that “measles elimination can be achieved if measles vaccine coverage is at least 95 percent in every district."
“Children should get two doses of measles vaccines in order for them to have life-long immunity,” said Tayag, who underscored that a child should be given two doses of vaccination to develop immunity.
The first dose is given to a baby aged six to 11 months while the second dose is administered among infants aged 12 months 8.
“Protect you children from measles. Is it time to have them vaccinated? If they are six months to 11 months old, then they should get their first dose already,” he said.
Tayag said that of the 17 regions, only four regions did not report an increase in dengue cases: Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga.