• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Provincial Health Office logged 20 confirmed pertussis cases in Negros Occidental, while highly urbanized Bacolod City had 13 confirmed cases, as reported by its City Health Office.
Of the 85 pertussis-related cases, 47 were negative, while 18 are probable, aside from the 20 confirmed cases, according to PHO, which cited test results from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory disease, with a cough that may last two or more weeks, mild fever, and a runny nose as among its early symptoms.
Other cases, particularly infants and toddlers, experience cyanosis or turning blue or purple, and apnea or life-threatening pauses in breathing.
Pertussis is vaccine preventable disease, spreads easily from person to person through droplets from coughing and sneezing, and is most dangerous in infants causing deaths in this age group, according to CHO advisory.
The City Health Office of Bacolod strongly encouraged the completion of pertussis vaccination among children under two years old.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ma. Girlie Pinongan disclosed earlier that the PHO has vaccinated 62 percent of the target population.
Pinongan, however, said they still need to reach out during the catch-up vaccination, as more than 20,000 of about 54,000 children still need to be covered.*
