Group fears measles outbreak in Manila after death of 2 Tondo kids

A nongovernment organization providing medical care to poor communities warned on Wednesday that Manila was facing a measles outbreak, partly because of a vaccination scare caused by the Dengvaxia fiasco.

In a forum, Likhaan executive director Dr. Junice Melgar said his group had received reports that at least two children from Barangay 105 in Tondo died due to measles. Another case was being verified to determine if the patient died of diphtheria or pertussis.

These diseases, Melgar stressed, could have been prevented had the children been vaccinated.

She said Manila officials seem to have “underestimated” the problem, noting the lack of vaccines and medical personnel in the city.

It also didn’t help that the Manila city government had remained silent about the matter, she added.

Dr. Salvacion Gatchalian of the Philippine Pediatric Society said parents should not be afraid to have their children vaccinated especially since yearly, vaccines prevent three million deaths.