• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental logged its first pertussis related fatality, along with 11 confirmed cases, as of April 15.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Girlie Pinongan disclosed that the fatality is a one-month-old infant who died last week at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital.
Of the 11 confirmed cases, five are in Negros Occidental, and six in Bacolod City.
Of 36 suspected pertussis related cases in Negros Occidental, five turned out positive, including the fatality, while five others were negative results, based on the test results issued by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), according to Pinongan.
The remaining 26 suspected cases are still being examined by the RITM.
In highly urbanized Bacolod City, there are six positive cases of pertussis, five negative cases, and two others are still pending validation by the RITM.
Pinongan, however, said that based on the criteria of the Department of Health, there is no outbreak of pertussis, or whooping cough, stressing that the situation in the province is still manageable.
Those infected by pertussis are with ages ranging from a month old infant to 62 years old.
While waiting for the arrival of pertussis vaccines from DOH, Pinongan said that the provincial government is buying 10,000 doses of such vaccines.
Pertussis or whooping cough is an infection of the respiratory system caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria. It mainly affects babies younger than 6 months old who aren’t yet fully protected by immunizations, and kids 11 to 18 years old whose immunity has started to fade.*
