AN 11-month-old baby girl from Cebu City is the latest measles fatality in Central Visayas.
Baby Grace, not her real name, is the third in Cebu City and the ninth measles casualty in the entire Central Visayas, according to Department of Health (DOH) 7 records.
“She died of multiple organ failure; ruling is measles infection,” said Jane Michelle Raagas, DOH 7 nurse, during a government information forum held Tuesday, March 12.
Measles, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus passed from one person to another through direct contact and through air.
The Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit 7, as of March 12 (from Jan. 1, 2019), recorded a total of 898 measles-rubella cases in Central Visayas.
Of the nine recorded measles-related deaths, three were from Cebu City, and one each in Lapu-Lapu, Moalboal, San Fernando, Pinamungajan, Consolacion, and Carcar City.
With the current status, Region 7 is still under Code White that requires all DOH-retained facilities, equipment, supplies, and health personnel to be ready to respond to measles emergencies.
An Outbreak-Response Immunization will be conducted. Children aged six months to 59 months, vaccine target age group regardless of their vaccination status, will be given one dose of the measles vaccine.
Meanwhile, the DOH 7, with other agencies, will conduct a tuberculosis-active case finding in all Bureau of Jail Management and Penology jails in Central Visayas on March 24.
Dr. Sharon Laurel of DOH 7 said they are eyeing 16,000 inmates for the mass screening to mark World Tuberculosis Day.
Tuberculosis is caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria that most often affect the lungs and is spread from person to person through the air. (Wenilyn B. Sabalo, USJ-R Intern)