NEGROS Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson explained yesterday that the recent jump in measles and dengue cases in the province is connected to the dengvaxia scare.
According to Lacson, despite the scare the National Government has slowly gotten back the confidence of the parents in order to let their children get vaccinated.
"I think by now they realized that it is different from the dengvaxia," Lacson said.
He further expressed his confidence that despite the increase of measles-related cases, the number should further go down thanks to the vaccination drive being done not only in the province but nationwide.
Earlier, the Negros Occidental Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported five measles-related fatalities recorded since January of this year.
PHO data as of June 15 showed there were two deaths reported in Escalante City with Bago City, Sagay City and Talisay City each documenting one fatality.
In terms of the number of measles cases, the province has seen instances jump to 772, up from the 43 recorded during the same period last year, which constitutes a nearly 1,700 percent increase.
Meanwhile, San Carlos City currently has the highest number of cases with 93.
The PHO report also noted, most patients were children aged between one and four years old, with 57 percent of them being unvaccinated.
The provincial government previously approved a resolution supporting the implementation of measles quick response activities in order to address the measles outbreak that struck the province earlier this year.
According to the resolution, the Department of Health-Center for Health Development for the Western Visayas issued an advisory highlighting the need to interrupt the transmission of measles, stress the necessity for “catch-up immunizations,” and strengthen measles surveillance advocacy.