Places in the Philippines with pertussis outbreak
Several cities in the Philippines are still trying to contain outbreaks of pertussis or whooping cough.
In case you don't know, the contagious respiratory illness caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria has been increasing in cases worldwide. It spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. You can also catch it by touching something contaminated with the bacteria and then touching your face.
Data from the Department of Health showed that 453 cases of pertussis were recorded during the first 10 weeks of this year. Some local government units have also declared an outbreak of this disease in their respective areas.
Here are the places that have logged cases of the illness.
Iloilo City
The entire Iloilo City was recently placed under a state of calamity due to a pertussis outbreak.
In a statement published on its Facebook page, the city's Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the recommendation of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to place the city under a state of calamity.
This was after the city's health office logged a total of 16 cases of pertussis, of which seven were confirmed. These cases are from the Molo, Jaro, Arevalo, and Lapuz districts.
"With the state of calamity status, the city government can utilize the calamity fund for the procurement of medicines and vaccines, and for other strengthened measures and responses against the infectious disease," the statement read.
Quezon City
Quezon City also declared an outbreak of pertussis in the area after 23 cases were recorded in the first three months, with four babies dying from the disease.
However, two of these infants had not been vaccinated with the Pentavalent Vaccine, while one had only received the first twelve, and one could not be vaccinated yet.
Mayor Joy Belmonte emphasized that there is no need for residents to panic because the local government is now trying to prevent its spread and is gathering additional vaccines to keep the babies safe.
"Ang deklarasyon natin ay pagsiguro na we are on top of the situation, and we will do whatever it takes to curb the spread of this disease. We are mobilizing our own resources towards procuring the needed vaccines to keep our children safe, until such time as the DOH supply arrives,” Belmonte said in a press conference.
Pasig City
Pertussis has also been recorded in Pasig City.
According to its March 22 advisory, 25 cases of the illness have been recorded in the area. Of these, 17 are confirmed cases, with two of them having passed away, while the rest are probable cases.
The government stated that it is now trying to curb the increasing infection by doing tests on those with symptoms of the disease, contact tracing, and administering vaccines, among others.
Cebu
Two cities within the Central Visayas region also didn't manage to stay safe from pertussis.
In a report by SunStar, health officials from the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu in Cebu revealed that they have also logged cases in their respective areas.
Lapu-Lapu City Health Office head Agnes Realiza said that they only had one confirmed case of pertussis, while Debra Catulong, head of the Mandaue City Health Office, remained mum on details and only said that they have confirmed and suspected cases of the disease.
Both governments are now increasing the administration of pentavalent vaccines, particularly among toddlers and infants, to prevent the further spread of the disease.