In the Philippines, measles outbreaks are increasingly demanding victims, many of whom are young children. The number of died of the highly contagious virus is now at 136 since the beginning of the year, said the Ministry of Health of the Southeast Asian country today. About 40 percent were children between one and four years.
Since the last release a week ago, the number of cases has almost doubled to 8,443. The authorities appealed to parents to have their children vaccinated and sent out teams to offer free immunization in government institutions throughout the island nation.
„Vaccination is the best strategy“
The vaccine coverage in the country should be increased and the risk of infection contained. „Vaccination is the best strategy to fight measles,“ said Health Minister Francisco Duque.
The decreased immunization rate led Duque back to a drug scandal that had greatly shaken the confidence of the Filipinos and Philippines. There had been several deaths following a dengue fever program in 2016/17, in which children were given the Dengvaxia drug from the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi.
As a result, many parents did not vaccinate their children – not even measles, where the vaccines are considered safe and effective and have been used for decades.
