'Red flag' health alert raised after surge in measles cases in eastern Philippines

Philippine health authorities have rolloed out a "catch-up" measles vaccination drive to curb a spike in cases of measles, a highly contagious disease.

The Department of Health (DOH) has raised the “red flag” measles alert status in Bicol following a marked increase in cases in the region east of Manila, even as the agency is targetting children from ages six to 59 months in priority areas where cases of measles were reported.

On Saturday, health authorities urged parents and guardians to bring their child to the nearest health centre and have them vaccinated against measles.

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquaio, also a Philippine Senator, had also endorsed the authorities' vaccination campaign to curb the spread of the disease.

Dr. Ernie Vera, DOH acting director for Region 5 (Bicol), told local media that raising the alert status is a  countermeasure that would place the measles cases under careful watch to prevent an outbreak.

Quoting a DOH Epidemiology Bureau report, Vera said that as of January to Febuary this year, records from various provincial health offices revealed that 424 measles cases were recorded.

The report also said six of the affected children had died of the disease.

The Philippine News Agency on Friday reported that more health workers will be hired and their salaries paid once the 2019 budget is released

Deaths

Vera said that Albay, with 124 cases, had the highest incidence, followed by Camarines Sur with 109 cases.

Meanwhile, Sorsogon province recorded 85 cases; Masbate, 83; Camarines Norte, 21; and Catanduanes, one.

Of the six children who died of the illness, three were from Masbate while the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon had one fatality each, according to a report by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The DOH data indicate that from January to February this year, a total of 11,459 confirmed cases of measles were recorded, with 189 fatalities from Jan. 1 to Feb. 20 this year.

US measles cases 

The focus on measles in the US Pacific Northwest intensified Friday as public health officials in Oregon announced a new case of the highly-contagious disease unrelated to an ongoing outbreak in Washington state that's sickened 68 people so far.

An unvaccinated Illinois resident who spent time overseas visited Portland International Airport and various locations in Salem, Oregon last week while contagious with measles, the Oregon Health Authority said.

Potential exposure locations include a Red Robin restaurant and a trampoline fun park in Salem, officials said.

The case is unrelated to an ongoing measles outbreak in southwest Washington state that's sickened dozens. Public health officials in Clark County, Washington, said three new cases were identified Friday and two more are suspected.

That brings the number of cases in the Portland, Oregon bedroom community of Vancouver, Washington, to 68 —  more than 40 percent of the number reported nationwide since January 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in updated statistics released Friday.

Fast facts

Between 1 January and 23 February 2019, 12,736 measles cases including 203 deaths were officially reported through the routine surveillance system from the Philippines Department of Health (DoH) — a significant increase compared to 2,789 cases and 25 deaths reported in the same time period in 2018

On 6 February 2019, the Department of Health (DOH) declared a “measles outbreak” in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Region 3 (Central Luzon).

On the 7 February 2019, DOH announced that the measles outbreak had spread to more areas in Luzon and Visayas in CALABARZON, Region 6 (Western Visayas) and Region 7 (Central Visayas).

Sources: Unicef, WHO

(With reports from AP)