MEASLES cases reported this year are 157 percent higher compared to last year, the latest surveillance report of the Department of Health (DOH) show.
The DOH said there are already 350 measles cases reported from January 1 to August 13. For the same period last year, only 136 cases were reported.
Central Visayas has the highest number of cases with 52, followed by Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon) with 46, and the National Capital Region with 38.
The DOH report showed that Central Visayas registered the highest increase with 1,200 (4 to 52), Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) with 650 percent (2 to 15), and Central Luzon with 333 percent (6 to 26).
No deaths due to measles have so far been reported across the country for 2022. There were also no deaths reported during the same period last year.
In a press briefing last Friday, the DOH called on the public to continue wearing face masks to protect themselves from measles, coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and other diseases.
Similar to COVID-19, measles can be transmitted when someone with the virus coughs, sneezes, or talks, as infectious droplets scatter into the air.
“We continue to advise the public that face masks can help protect us from the viruses by up to 70 to 80 percent,” said DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire.
This, she said, is especially given the higher mobility of people, particularly children, with the resumption of physical classes.
“We face higher risks now, especially our children, since face-to-face classes have resumed,” said Vergeire.
