Measles cases in Pangasinan drop by 71%
LINGAYEN—Pangasinan recorded 18 measles cases in the year to April 9, a substantial decline of 71 percent from last year’s 62 cases, according to newly released data from the Provincial Health Office’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.
The rate of decline is better than the national average of about 60 percent estimated by the Department of Health.
Measles, one of the leading causes of death among young children worldwide, made a comeback in the country owing to the reluctance of families to have their young kids vaccinated, the health department recently acknowledged.
In Pangasinan, there was a zero casualty record in the first quarter this year, duplicating the achievement in the same period last year.
The big drop in the number of cases occurred in March with only 2 suspected cases, compared to last year’s 33.
Confirmed measles cases this year were in Binmaley and Dagupan City, with two each, and one in Sison town.
Most of the afflicted patients were one to four years of age. Four of them were male and seven female.
The World Health Organization warns that measles is a highly contagious, serious disease caused by a virus. Before the introduction of measles vaccine in 1963 and widespread vaccination, major epidemics occurred every 2–3 years.
Despite the availability of a vaccine against it, measles remains to be the cause of an estimated 2.6 million deaths, including young children, each year worldwide. (Eva Visperas)
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