DOH: Measles transmitted more easily than nCoV

The novel coronavirus is milder than measles in terms of transmission rate, based on the initial information gathered about the pathogen, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Wednesday amid the public's growing fear of possible infection.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the measles' infectivity rate was 1:18, meaning one infected person could pass the measles virus to 18 others.

As regards nCoV, DOH Epidemiology Bureau director Dr. Chito Avelino said an infected could "transmit it to two to three or four uninfected individuals at close range"

"The coronavirus as with regard to the measles that we have experienced a year ago is less infective... Mas nakakahawa ang tigdas," Avelino said at a news conference.

The DOH declared a measles outbreak in the country last February with over 31,000 cases reported in the first four months of 2019.

The number of nCoV cases in China, however, already reached almost 6,000 on Wednesday—surpassing the number of people infected by the SARS epidemic in the mainland from 2002 to 2003.

The new strain of coronavirus, which has never been known among humans before, has already claimed 132 lives in China.

In the Philippines, there are no confirmed cases yet but 23 persons are currently being investigated. —NB, GMA News