City of San Fernando – Governor Lilia “Nanay” Pineda ordered local health offices yesterday to intensify the vaccination and information dissemination campaign against measles.
This amidst the mounting cases of the dreaded disease which claimed the lives of four out of the 190 cases in the province.
This was recorded by the Department of Health (DOH) from January to February of this year.
As this developed, the governor also ordered the transfer of infected patients to the newly constructed Diosdado P. Macapagal Memorial Hospital Annex in San Luis for further examination to prevent the disease of becoming a full-blown epidemic.
The lady governor reiterated to the public the importance of vaccination saying the measles vaccine is safe and free.
According to DOH, there is an unexpected increase in the number of affected children in the province compared to 2018.
In an interview, Provincial Health Office (PHO) Chief Marcelo Jaochico urged parents of newborn babies to visit the nearest health centers and have their children vaccinated against this infectious disease.
He said the local government of Pampanga likewise supports the house-to-house immunization campaign conducted by DOH in the region.
Measles is a highly infectious and communicable disease caused by a virus. This can lead to complications, such as blindness, encephalitis, pneumonia, diarrhea and even death if not properly managed.
Early symptoms includes high fever, cough, conjunctivitis and colds.
Measles outbreak in Central Luzon was declared by regional health officials last Thursday.