ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Department of Health and the local government have launched a massive immunization against measles in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines following an outbreak of the disease in many villages here.
The mass immunization, which began on February 19 will run until March 23, where health workers go house-to-house in all 98 villages in an effort to vaccinate children with ages 6 months to 5 years old. Nearly 122,000 children are expected to benefit from the vaccination.
The City Health Office under Dr Dulce Amor Miravite declared the outbreak after it recorded at least 100 measles cases since early this year which was 1300% higher compared from last year’s medical records.
At least 3o% of those infected by the disease were children ages 1 to 5 and mostly females who had no measles immunization, according to the City Health Office.
Health officials have repeatedly appealed and urged mothers to have their children vaccinated to protect them from measles which is a serious respiratory diseases that causes rashes and fever, and is very contagious because it can easily spread through sneezing and coughing and direct contact with nasal or throat secretions.
There was no reports of deaths from the outbreak of the disease, but the City Health Office urged those with measles to avoid direct contact with other people to help prevent contamination. (Mindanao Examiner)
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