Measles outbreak declared across the Philippines Thursday Feb 0,2019

An outbreak of measles is spreading across the Philippines -- with more than 1,500 cases of the disease and 26 deaths reported in recent weeks, authorities said Thursday Feb 0,2019

The capital region of Metro Manila has seen 441 cases, with five deaths, while many other areas across the country have also been affected.

Those include parts of Luzon and Visayas, with some areas seeing staggering increases in the number of cases of the preventable disease. 

The Calabarzon region to the south of Manila has seen a jump of 2,538%, with 575 reported cases so far in 2019 -- compared with 21 in 2018. The area has seen nine deaths since the beginning of the year. 

"We are expanding the outbreak from Metro Manila to other regions as cases have increased in the past weeks and to strengthen surveillance if there are new cases and alert mothers and caregivers to be more vigilant," Health Secretary Francisco Duque said.