Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Nurse Coordinator for Disease Surveillance Kurt Bryan D. Larubis provides updates on measles cases in the province and engages in a purposeful dialogue with the media on mitigating the issue.
PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (PIA) – The Integrated Provincial Health Office (PHO) has partnered with local media to raise awareness on the importance of measles vaccination.
In a recently held media forum on vaccine-preventable diseases—particularly measles and tuberculosis, the IPHO reported 20 confirmed measles cases in the first quarter of this year.
According to the office’s monitoring, measles cases have been steadily increasing year after year.
IPHO Chief Technical Designate Doctor Francis Louis M. Alcachupas emphasized the crucial role of disseminating factual information to the public to help curb the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases.
“This disease may seem like issues of the past, but it remains a serious concern affecting the vulnerable population and threatening the progress we’ve made in public health,” he said.
In 2022, cases of this disease were only coming from the city of Pagadian and municipality of Pitogo. However, this year, cases were already recorded from various municipalities including Labangan, Kumalarang, Margosatubig, and San Pablo.
Doctor Alcachupas said that the media will play the role of educating the public, fighting misinformation about vaccination, and promoting healthy communities.
Sherman Calotes from 91.9 Radyo Natin FM Pagadian expressed his vouch for the partnership of IPHO with local media.
“Pinaagi sa klaro ug husto nga impormasyon mas daghang tawo ang ma-aware kung unsa ka-importante ang pagpabakuna para malikayan ang measles outbreak” he said.
(Through clear and accurate information, more people will become aware of how important vaccination is to prevent a measles outbreak.)
Measles is a highly contagious disease, especially in areas where vaccination coverage is low and unvaccinated children are interacting.
Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Nurse Coordinator of Disease Surveillance Kurt Bryan D. Larubis stressed that the only way to prevent the spread of measles is to get vaccinated, especially children.
“The simple solution is bakuna lang, ning ana ra kadali” Larubis reiterated as he urged the media to rally with them on this campaign.
(The simple solution is only vaccination. That’s how easy it is.)
The PHO hopes that with the active participation of the media, communities will become more open to having their children vaccinated to prevent diseases such as measles and other vaccine-preventable illnesses. (CCP/HAC/PIA9-Zamboanga del Sur)
