Measles cases decreasing —DOH

An official of the Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said the number of measles cases in the country has been decreasing.

The number of cases is seeing a downward trend "across all regions," Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo told reporters in Manila, "but we don't want to say there's no outbreak [until] we're sure there are no new cases."

He said the DOH will only be able to declare the situation "completely under control" if no new cases are reported for six weeks. For now, the department is operating under the assumption that the outbreak is ongoing, he added.

The DOH declared a measles outbreak in Metro Manila and in other regions in Luzon and Visayas last February. By early March, the number of reported measles cases nationwide had reached more than 16,000.

On Friday, Domingo said the the DOH met its initial target of measles vaccination coverage among 3.8 million children aged six months to 59 months around the end of March.

About 5 million children in kindergarten to Grade 6 have been immunized, he said, adding that vaccination efforts will be community-based, instead of school-based, during the summer break. —LDF, GMA News