By Anthony Giron
TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite – Governor Jesus Crispin C. Remulla declared a state of calamity due to the measles outbreak that caused a number of deaths and cases in Cavite.
Cavite, with eight districts comprising seven cities and 16 municipalities, is the country's most populous province. Afflicted by the measles virus are babies and children.
Measles vaccine (CZAR DANCEL / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Dr. Nelson Soriano, Cavite provincial epidemiologist, citing update report, confirmed that at least nine measles deaths and 424 cases have been recorded in the province's lowland and upland districts.
Remulla placed the province under calamity state after the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP or Provincial Board) under Vice Governor Ramon Jolo Revilla III approved on February 18 Resolution 1165 that took cognizance of the measles outbreak that the Department of Health (DoH) declared in Region IV-A or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) area and elsewhere in the country early this month.
The governor and the SP approved a P3-million fund allocation with the state of calamity declaration in the province. Remulla said the fund will be used for treatment and measles vaccination of the children,
Cavite Provincial Health Officer Gilberto Ilog has already created a Measles Outbreak Team that will monitor children with measles and the much-needed immunization.
The Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (PESU) reported that there were a total 424 recorded measles cases in the province from January 1 to February 22, compared to the 16 cases in the same period in 2018.
The PESU report showed that the four neighboring areas of Bacoor; Imus, the province's capital; General Trias; and Dasmariñas, the province's most populous; had the most number of cases with 104, 61, 55, and 52, respectively.