The 2019 Philippines measles outbreak began in early 2019. An

outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

measles Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by measles virus. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days. Initial symptoms typically include fever, often greater than , cough, ...

was officially declared in February 2019 in select administrative regions in Luzon and Visayas including Metro Manila by the Philippine government. The outbreak is attributed to lowered vaccination rates, from a high of 88% 10 to 15 years previous to 74% at the time of the outbreak, allegedly caused by the

Dengvaxia controversy The Dengvaxia controversy () occurred in the Philippines when the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia was found to increase the risk of disease severity for some people who had received it. A vaccination program run by the Philippine Department of Health ...

Epidemiology

The

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

(DOH) of the Philippines declared a measles outbreak in

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

due to a 550% increase of the number of patients from January 1 to February 6, 2019, compared to figures of the equivalent period from 2018. Outbreaks were also officially declared in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Central Visayas. and Northern Mindanao. A joint report by the

United Nations Children's Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

(UNICEF) and

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

has stated in the report that the outbreak started much earlier in late-2017 in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. Metro Manila and Calabarzon being the most affected regions with at least a thousand cases each. The DOH has recorded at 8,443 cases from January 1 to February 18, 2019, with 135 of these cases resulting to deaths. On March 1, 2019, it was reported that there are at least 13,723 cases and 215 deaths recorded nationwide. By April 30, the DOH declared that the measles outbreak is already under control but remained hesitant in officially lifting the outbreak declaration. There are 31,056 cases and 415 deaths recorded from January 1 to April 13.

Cases

In connection with the measles outbreak, the Philippine government has been maintaining a tally of confirmed cases and deaths from measles nationwide, including in regions not officially experiencing a measles outbreak.

Cause

Vaccination against measles is available for free in government hospitals and health centers but there is a lowered trust in vaccination in the country. According to an opinion poll conducted by the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

in 2018, 32 percent of the surveyed 1,500 Filipinos trusted vaccines. In the 2015 iteration of the poll, 93 percent of the respondents said they trusted vaccines. Health Secretary

Francisco Duque III Francisco Tiongson Duque III (; born February 13, 1957) is a Filipino physician and government official who served as Secretary of Health in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2017 to 2022, a position he had previously held from 200 ...

attributes the lowered trust on the government's immunization drive due to the

. The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said that the outbreak is caused by "failure of the health system" saying that the distribution of vaccines down to the barangay level has not worked properly. They cited that immunization rates in the country have been declining in the past 10 to 15 years with about 74% immunized at the time of the outbreak compared to a high of 88%; 10 or 15 years ago. UNICEF and the WHO has also attributed increase vaccine hesitancy in 2018 due to the Dengue vaccine controversy as a factor contributing to the outbreak. Statistical data from UNICEF, however, shows that decline in Measles vaccination began as early as 2014, four years before the Dengvaxia controversy happened. As of March 1, 2019, 62 percent of all cases recorded at that time involved individuals who were not vaccinated against measles.

Response

The Department of Health released an informercial featuring boxer

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Philip ...

in order encourage parents and guardians to get their children vaccinated against measles in response to the outbreak. Neighbouring Malaysia's state of

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

through the Health and People Wellbeing Ministry working towards getting all children, especially

stateless people In international law, a stateless person is someone who is "not considered as a national by any state under the operation of its law". Some stateless people are also refugees. However, not all refugees are stateless, and many people who are st ...

to be vaccinated following the outbreak in their neighbour the Philippines.

Notes

References

{{Epidemics Disease outbreaks in the Philippines measles outbreak