Inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CDN FILE PHOTO/ JUNJIE MENDOZA)
A measles outbreak was declared at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) where 42 inmates were suspected to have suffered from the virus since June 16.
Laboratory tests conducted last Friday by the regional health authorities confirmed 11 of the patients had the virus, said Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) chief Rennan Cimafranca. The rest are either back on their feet already, or have just started to feel ill.
Because of this, the health department is advising the Capitol, which operates the facility, to regulate visitors or better yet, declare it close to visitors in the meantime.
The Department of Health (DOH)-7 said affected prisoners must be isolated.
The CPDRC has 1,971 inmates now. It was built to accommodate only 1,600 prisoners.
The affected inmates have been placed on isolation and are given Vitamin A supplements. They are now staying at the old mess hall near the clinic.
A visitor might have carried the highly contagious virus inside the prison, said Cimafranca, adding that the measles outbreak in CPDRC is the rubeola and not the German measles based on the laboratory tests.
The disease starts with a mild to moderate fever, runny nose, inflamed eyes, cough, sore throat and skin rashes.
Cimafranca said that the measles could lead to pneumonia.
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