3 diseases menace Central Visayas

CEBU CITY — Measles, dengue and rabies cases in Central Visayas are on rise, the Department of Health (DOH) has reported.

The three diseases are deadly but preventable, and vaccines are free at public hospitals.

However, despite the DOH’s immunization efforts, there is an uptick in the number of cases.

Dr. Shelbay Blanco, DOH regional medical officer, said during a news forum Wednesday that from Jan. 1 to March 6, 2019, there were 737 cases and eight deaths due to measles reported in Central Visayas.

“This is 1,317 percent higher compared to the same period last year and this is 7.1 percent more than the last measles surveillance update on March 5,” Blanco said.

Most of the victims are children less than five years old, and all the deaths were from the Cebu municipalities of Moalboal, San Francisco, Pinamungahan, Carcar City, Consolacion, Lapu-Lapu City and Cebu City with victims between five months old to two years old.

Most of those who died of measles were undernourished and had a low immune system, making them prone to complications that lead to death, Blanco said.

The biggest number of measles cases come from the three highly urbanized cities in the province: Cebu City with 229 cases, Lapu Lapu City with 42 and Mandaue City with 30, Blanco said.

Dr. Jeanette Pauline Cortes, DOH regional medical officer, said vaccinations were ongoing and “we are now seeing parents and grandparents bringing their children to health centers for measles shots.”

Cortes said that from Jan. 1 to March 6, 135,299 people had been immunized; 61,304 of them are children ages 6-59 months, and 18,660 are high school students and 55,335 are adults.

The turnouts indicate that people have become aware of the dangers of measles.

According to Dr. Blanco, dengue also posted a big surge, with 4,505 cases and 29 deaths.

Central Visayas has the biggest number of dengue cases in the country. It is 233 percent higher than the cases recorded in the same period last year when there were only 1,352 cases and eight deaths.

Most of cases were children ages 6-10 years old from Bohol, Cebu and Negros Oriental.

Blanco said dengue cases are increasing in densely populated areas because mosquitos can now thrive in clean, dirty or canal water.

“Mosquitoes used to breed only in clean water. Now they breed anywhere and they travel with people and have been resistant to fogging and other forms of anti-mosquito spray. The changes of weather also affected the mosquitoes’ feeding and breeding behavior,” Blanco added.

Reporting on rabies, Dr. Jonathan Neil Erasmo, chief of the local health support division of DOH, said animal bite incidents in Central Visayas in 2018 totaled 102,165 cases and 24 deaths from rabies.

Erasmo said Cebu province had the biggest number of animal bite incidents with 29,326 followed by Negros Oriental with 18,239, and Bohol with 13,637. As of March, two deaths from rabies have been recorded.

Dogs were responsible for 77,010 animal bite cases. Cat bites followed at 24,365 and other animal bites at 790, Erasmo said.