THE Department of Health in Northern Mindanao (DOH) has already vaccinated about 12,000 children across the region to protect them from measles.
Dr. Dave Mendoza, head of the Regional Epidemiology, Surveillance and Disaster Response Unit, however said that the number of measles-related cases continues to rise.
As of this month, the DOH already recorded more or less 500 cases.
Mendoza said its office is now on white code alert to make sure that all medical personnel are ready to respond to any emergencies that may result from the increased number of measles cases.
"We need to make sure that there are enough people especially now that we are intensifying our vaccination program in the entire region," Mendoza said.
This summer, however, Mendoza said the number of measles might decline as health personnel catches up with the vaccination levels in the region.
Measles, caused by a virus that infects the respiratory tract, can be passed through direct contact and through the air.
Its complications include severe diarrhea, pneumonia, blindness, and even death.
City Councilor Ma. Lourdes Gaane, chairperson of the committee on health and sanitation, meanwhile called on parents to go to nearest health centers or hospitals to get their children vaccinated.
In the city, the City Health Office has recorded a total of 78 cases with five deaths in different barangays.
"There is no cure for measles. What hospitals can do is provide supportive assistance such as hydration and nutrition to those already infected," she said.
"The vaccine is absolutely free in all DOH and barangay health centers," she added.