Measles cases reach nearly 1,800 in the Philippines
Philippines, May 28, 2010
According to the Philippines' Department of Health's National Epidemiology Center (NEC), the number of measles cases has reached almost 1,800, the Malaya reported on May 21. According to the Malaya, an NEC Disease Surveillance report from April 10 said that a total of 1,794 measles cases have been confirmed since January 1. According to the report, 1,228 other cases have pending laboratory results to confirm if they really are measles. The report said that "compared to the previous year, the number of confirmed cases increased by 387.5 percent." Only 368 cases were confirmed by the DOH during the same period in 2009, the Malaya reported. Most of the confirmed cases this year were found in the National Capital Region (967 cases), Calabarzon (268 cases), Central Luzon (105 cases), and Bicol (101 cases). The country experienced a measles outbreak in March when at least 19 communities recorded an outbreak with the total number of confirmed cases exceeding the 368 cases set in 2009, according to the Malaya. According to the paper, officials had said then that the outbreak was being caused by a new strain from overseas. The UN's World Health Organization (WHO) on May 21 also urged governments to renew political commitment and increase funding to fight measles, particularly in Africa, according to a report by the People's Daily Online. Peter Strebel, of the WHO's Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals said that due to a considerable decline in funding and political commitment since 2008, progress in measles control has stalled. "Being one of the most contagious diseases, measles is making a rapid comeback," the People's Daily quoted him as saying. According to the WHO, measles deaths worldwide among children under five years of age dropped by 89 percent between 1990 and 2008. However, Strebel says that from the start of 2009 to May this year, measles outbreaks were reported in some 30 African countries and the epidemic has resulted in over 1,100 deaths and more than 64,000 cases of infections in the past year. According to the People's Daily, Strebel added that outbreaks were also reported in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and in European countries, such as Bulgaria and Britain. Measles is a highly infectious viral disease that is easily transmitted from person to person through coughing or sneezing, and is characterized by high fever and the eruption of small red spots. Despite the existence of a safe and effective vaccine since 1963, measles remains a leading cause of death among young children, mainly in poor nations.
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