Measles is highly contagious which is dangerous in a highly populated area that has little access to immunization. Why the result of the outbreak involved over 18000 individuals is due to the 2 main factors:
Population- The density of the population plays a major role in the number of outbreaks. Watson, Gayer & Connolly, (2007) “Measles and the risk for transmission after a natural disaster are dependent on baseline immunization coverage among the affected population, and in particular among children.” As Luzon has high population density, they would see more cases then a low population area such as Canada.
Healthcare and immunization- the implications of the disaster would have had less impact if there was greater access to immunization. The World Health Organization provides statistics on the level of immunization coverage that indicate the lowest rates were in the WHO South-East Asia (75%) and African (73%) regions. The highest rate was in the WHO European Region (94%). In low-income countries, 76% of children aged 12–23 months had received measles vaccination, compared with 82% in lower middle-income countries, 94% in upper middle-income countries, and 93% in high-income countries.