1 more kid dead from measles in Cebu

CEBU CITY — Another child in Cebu died due to measles at the height of the outbreak from January to early February 2019.

The recent report of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7), showed that the virus claimed the life of a two-year-old girl from Pinamungajan town, 34 kilometers west of Cebu City.

The fatality brought the number of deaths in Cebu to three due to measles this year.

The DOH-7 also reported that the number of measles cases in Central Visayas shot up to 169 from January 1 to February 12.

Of the number, 119 were from Cebu.

Negros Oriental, on the other hand, also has 39 measles cases while Bohol has 10. There were no reported cases in Siquijor province.

The rise in the measles cases began around the middle of 2018, starting in Negros Oriental where a province-wide outbreak was declared on the same year.

The DOH-7 said the number of cases further increased as the outbreak spread to Metro Cebu, the rest of Cebu province and Bohol,

Last Thursday, February 7, the DOH national office in Manila declared a measles outbreak in the National Capital Region, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and Bicol Region.

Dr. Jaime Bernadas, director of DOH-7, said the trend has been due to the decreased number of vaccinations among children since 2014. /lzb