On February 6 the Department of Health confirmed an outbreak of measles in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Central Luzon area. The most number of cases have been in Manila, Caloocan, Marikina, Pasig, Navotas, Parañaque, Taguig, Pasay and Malabon. Other regions such as the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Cordillera Administrative Region, and the Caraga Region are also under “tight watch” by the DOH in case of a measles outbreak.
According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque there has been a 550% increase of measles cases this 2019 as compared to the same time period in 2018. From January 1 to February 6 of 2018 there had only been 20 recorded cases of measles in NCR. This year there are already 196 cases, with at least 55 of those already resulting in death. In the whole of Central Luzon, the DOH records 442 suspected cases of measles.
But what do these numbers actually signify? A Twitter thread from a Junior Medical Intern at San Lazaro Hospital illustrates the reality (and horror) of this measles outbreak. The whole thread reads:
So I was assigned at the ER Triage of San Lazaro Hospital last night. 95% of the patients who came in at the ER were Pedia patients with measles. Andddd I came to this realization…
So as you all know, San Lazaro Hospital is an Infectious Disease Hospital. Pedia wards have an isolation room for Measles, Dengue, Leptospirosis, Diphtheria, Tetanus etc. But due to the Measles outbreak today, all wards/isolation rooms are occupied, including the hallway, wherein 4 Pedia patients with measles share 1 bed. Could you imagine??
Understand that San Lazaro Hospital is already working at full capacity, or even more, in order to handle all the measles cases. Any patients they have to turn away are asked to leave for their own good.
We reached out to the medical intern behind the thread who told us her information comes from being assigned at the Pedia ward (Pavillions 3, 4 and 8) and at the ER triage last January 2019. Maxinne explains that the steady rise in cases was obvious and highly symptomatic of an outbreak.
According to her “On January 18, we had 82 Pediatric patients admitted due to measles. The following day, the number increased to 95. And on the last day of January, numbers gradually increased to 113. As of today, around 50 patients already died (since January 2019) due to the complications of measles and around 200 ++ are currently admitted. “
She has also been able to confirm that a majority of the patients have not received their MMR vaccine (which warns against measles, mumps, and rubella), as verified by either the patients themselves or their parents. It was a habit of hers during rounds or triage to confirm this with her patients, and she would estimate that 98% of them have not been vaccinated.
More than that, she would question why they hadn’t been vaccinated yet. She says that “most of them would tell me ‘dahil po sa dengvaxia. Natakot po kami kasi baka mamatay anak namin, tulad nangyari sa dengvaxia.’ [Because of dengvaxia. We were scared that our child would die, just like what happened with the dengvaxia cases] So I was able to conclude that due to the dengvaxia scare, parents have assumed that dengvaxia and all other kinds of vaccines would produce a similar effect.”
In line with this, the DOH continues to push for the vaccination of children, who are the most susceptible to diseases like measles. An estimate of 2.4 million children has not received their measles vaccination. They are putting not only themselves at risk, but children who are unable to receive vaccinations due to preexisting conditions are also placed in danger. Vaccination for measles is free in local health centers for children under 5 years old.
Common symptoms of measles are high fever, cough, runny nose, red/watery eyes, tiny white spots inside the mouth, and a rash made up of large, flat botches on your skin.
(Parents refuse free anti-measles vaccination despite measles outbreak)
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