PALO, Leyte — The Department of Health in Eastern Visayas sent 21 health care workers to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to conduct a Measles Outbreak Response Immunization (MORI) amid shortage of health workers as measles continues to spread in the villages of the region.

Chiradee Claridad, National Immunization Program (NIP) manager at DoH-8, said the deployment seeks to address the urgent need for more health workers in BARMM to help curb the spread of measles and safeguard the health of vulnerable communities.

The DoH-8 health responders, led by Suzette Arcillas of the Leyte Provincial DoH Office, were deployed to Lanao del Sur from 7 to 20 April.

Arcillas said the team, which was divided into four sub-teams each consisting of four nurses and one midwife, are ready to make a tangible impact in the field of public health.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of BARMM appealed for support for additional manpower to its expanded vaccination drive to combat the further spread of measles.

From 1 January to 20 March this year, the MoH has recorded a total of 592 cases of measles in BARMM with three fatalities. MoH records show that of the 592 cases, 521 are unvaccinated, and 71 are vaccinated.

Lanao del Sur experienced the highest impact of the measles outbreak, with 220 cases, making up 37 percent of the region’s total cases. Two of the fatalities were from said province, while the other one was from Sulu.