The Department of Health on Wednesday said the reported measles cases in Quezon province are now under control, while reported cases in Antipolo City are still being managed jointly by the health department and local health authorities.
In a statement, the DOH said that as of Dec. 18, reports of measles cases in General Nakar, Quezon had reached 107 cases.
“We would like to reiterate to parents and caregivers that our measles vaccines are safe and have been in use worldwide for decades now,” Health Secretary Francisco Duque emphasized.
Duque urged health workers to reach out to parents to provide them the best available information to allay fears, correct misconceptions and encourage vaccination.
“Please bring your children to the nearest health center for free vaccination,” he added.
Cases were noted to increase in May this year. Victims were aged four months to 38 years old from 17 barangays, with Barangay Limutan recording 19 cases, and Anoling and Minahan with 14 cases each.
Fifty-one cases were treated in the rural health units and 49 at the district hospital. Eleven cases had no consultation at all, as there were 14 recorded deaths, the DOH added.
Health personnel from the national, regional, and local levels conducted house-to-house surveys, active case-finding, outbreak response immunization activities in nearby barangays, and a knowledge, attitudes, and practices survey.
They also taught residents on vaccination and vaccine-preventable diseases and collected and sent specimens for laboratory confirmation to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
Only one case has since been confirmed as a measles case, according to the RITM.
Since the third week of November, no additional cases were noted, the DOH said.
Meanwhile, measles cases reported in Antipolo City had been noted since March 19 this year. Cases at the time of report reached 333, with victims aged from one-month-old to 45 years old.
About 219 victims were not vaccinated, the health department said. Of the total 333 cases, 44 were confirmed positive for measles, leading to 10 reported deaths.
Health personnel conducted an outbreak investigation in the area, a Rapid Coverage Assessment and measles immunization activity for children six to 59 months old in 32 sitios starting last June 21, and disseminated measles prevention information. These activities are still ongoing, the DOH said.
