DAVAO City — Health officials in Davao region reported that the number of measles cases this year has decreased compared to the same period last year.
The low number of measles cases is not in the “outbreak threshold” as compared to other areas where outbreaks of the highly contagious disease were already declared.
Data from the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit’s (RESU) of the Department of Health in Davao Region (DOH-11) revealed of the 86 cases of patients suspected to have measles in the region from Jan. 1 to Feb. 10 this year.
The number is much lower compared to the recorded 347 cases in the same period last year, the RESU data added.
An outbreak was also declared in Davao City last year as more than 200 people were affected by measles, RESU said.
DOH-11 Regional Director Dr. Annabelle Yumang said compared to last year, the number of measles cases in the region decreased to 75 percent.
Despite the situation, Yumang still urged the public not to be complacent as it may go higher if children and infants remain unimmunized.
“That’s why we should be proactive to inform the public, the parents and the guardians to bring their children for immunization,” Yumang said.
In comparative data presented by DOH-11, Davao City has the most number of measles patients this year with a total number of 53 cases with one death.
The number is lower compared to the 89 cases recorded in 2018, the data added.
Davao del Sur province has 20 cases of measles this year compared to only 8 cases last year while Compostela Valley province has a lower number of seven cases of measles with one death this year compared to the 32 cases recorded last year.
In Davao del Norte, the DOH-11 data recorded a total number of five cases of measles this year compared to the 57 cases last year, while Davao Oriental has recorded only of one case of measles this year compared to the 10 cases last year.
Davao Occidental has no available data on cases of measles this year but DOH-11 took note of the single case of measles recorded in the province last year.
Of the 86 reported cases of measles in Region 11 this year, 31 percent of the patients are 8 months old and below; 17 percent belongs to the above 20-year-old group; while the remaining 13 are 9 to 12 months old. (davaotoday.com)
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