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In the Philippines, the death toll has dropped to 136 since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.
The number of cases nationwide reached 8,443 on February 16, nearly double the number since last updated last week, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
Of the 136 patients who died from the disease, 40% were between one and four years old, the department said.
The authorities have appealed to parents to have their children vaccinated against measles in a context of panic caused by a controversial dengue vaccine.
The health department has sent teams to provide free vaccines to government centers across the country to expand immunization coverage.
"Vaccination is the best strategy for fighting measles," said Health Secretary Francisco Duque.
Senator Manny Pacquiao, world boxing champion, has added his popular voice to the call for parents to vaccinate their children against measles.
"In boxing, I have your back. But in our fight against measles, we must be together, "he said while expressing his support for the" Knock Out Tigdas "(measles) campaign of the Ministry of Health.
Duque blamed the increase in low vaccination rates among children to a fear caused by a controversial program to immunize children against dengue fever in 2017.
The fright was focused on a vaccine created by the French company Sanofi Pasteur, which revealed that the drug posed risks for children not infected with dengue fever before vaccination.
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