• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
A two-month-old infant died, feared to be a probable case of pertussis, or whooping cough, as the number of cases of the contagious respiratory illness have risen to eight in Negros Occidental, as of April 16, according to a report of the Provincial Health Office.
The City Health Office also logged six confirmed cases of pertussis in highly urbanized Bacolod City, as of April 6.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Girlie Pinongan disclosed on Wednesday that the infant died on Tuesday at a government hospital in northern Negros. If confirmed to be pertussis-related, it would be the second such fatality. Last week, a month-old infant was confirmed to have died of pertussis, based on the findings of the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine.
Of the 39 cases reported to the Negros Occidental Health Surveillance System, eight were confirmed by RITM as pertussis, 13 were negative, and 18 are probable, PHO reports further indicated.
The report added that 18 of 31 local government units in Negros Occidental have at least one pertussis case, with the age group with the most number of cases being from zero to nine months old.
Pertussis starts as a mild cough and cold that lasts about two weeks, followed by paroxysms or fits of coughing which lasts up to six weeks. There is a characteristic “whooping” or high pitched sound in between coughs, especially when inhaling. There can also be vomiting immediately after coughing, and low-grade fever. Infants may not present with cough; instead, they may turn cyanotic or bluish when coughing, according to the Department of Health.*
