UNICEF-WHO Philippines: Measles Outbreak, Situation Report 2, 20 February 2019
- Countries
- Philippines
- Sources
- UNICEF
- + 1 more
- Publication date
Current Situation
Between 1 January and 18 February 2019, 9,267 measles cases including 146 deaths were officially reported through the routine surveillance system from the Philippines Department of Health (DoH): a 266% increase with the same time period in 2018 (see Table 1).
Since the declaration of an outbreak in five regions on 11 February 2019, a surge in the number of measles cases is observed (see Figure 1), caused by the rapid spread of the disease, which is highly contagious; increased awareness of parents to take their sick children to the nearest health facility, as per DoH’ advise; as well as improved reporting.
Even more concerning is the drastic increase in the Case Fatality Rate (CFR) from 0.93% on 31 December 2018, to 2% on 7 February 2019.
With a median age of 2 years old, 61% of measles cases are under 5 years of age. Data from 2018 shows that 10% of cases are between 6 and 15 years of age, whereas 15% are between 16 and 30 years of age.
The majority of measles cases are male (53%).
As of 18 February 2019, 64% of all cases are not vaccinated.