Measles outbreak in the Philippines kills 55 children since 2019

Health officials say low public trust in vaccines has dropped vaccination rates significantly.

A measles outbreak in the Philippines‘s capital, Manila, is spreading.

The health department reported a 550 percent increase in cases nationwide, with 55 deaths since January.

Vaccination efforts have been hampered by a recent vaccine corruption scandal in which children may have been given an unsafe dengue fever vaccine as part of a mass immunisation programme, weakening trust in health officials.

Al Jazeera’s Jamela Alindogan reports from Manila.