MEASLES cases in Bacolod City have increased by 614.3 percent from January to July 6 this year, compared to the same period last year, City Health Office (CHO) records showed.
Dr. Grace Tan, head of the CHO Environment Sanitation Division, said that they listed 200 cases from January to July 6 compared to 28 cases only in 2018.
There was no fatality record for the same period in 2018 and 2019.
Tan said of 200 cases, 14 cases have been confirmed as measles by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) of the Department of Health (DOH).
“We have several cases with no history of immunization so this is also a call for everybody to bring your kids, especially the unimmunized less than five-year-old, to the health centers for the immunization vaccines and it’s for free,” she said.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease and is transmitted from person-to-person by sneezing, coughing, and close personal contact.
The CHO focuses on immunizing the children in various barangays who failed to avail a vaccine for protection against measles, locally known as “tigdas.”
“We want the general public to join us to fight against this virus or measles because this is a vaccine-preventable disease. Bring your children to the nearest health centers and have them vaccinated,” Tan said.