Pertussis cases up in 6 regions

MANILA, Philippines — Pertussis cases have continued to increase in six regions, according to the Department of Health.

The DOH said Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Zamboanga peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao and Bicol recorded an upward trend in pertussis cases in the past six weeks.

At least 1,477 cases, including 63 deaths, were recorded nationwide from Jan. 1 to April 6.

Seventy-six percent of the cases are children aged five and below while four percent are aged 20 and above.

The DOH is waiting for the arrival of three million pentavalent or ”five-in-one” vaccine doses in June. It also procured “three-in-one” vaccine doses to prevent an anticipated shortfall next month.

“The effects of increasing immunization efforts to stem the outbreak may not be seen in the data until four to six weeks after they are started,” the DOH said.

Meanwhile, the national epidemic curve of new cases of measles-rubella is showing signs of plateauing, which the DOH said is an indication that transmission is slowing down.

At least 1,627 measles-rubella cases, with four deaths, were recorded from January to April 6. Children under 10 years comprised 82 percent of the cases. A majority of the patients are below five years old.

Nearly half or 787 of the cases are in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), where a massive immunization campaign against measles is now on its second week.

At least 850,000 children in BARMM have been vaccinated as of April 14.