Pertussis persists

Pertussis cases in the country are still on an upward trend, according to the Department of Health (DoH).

Data from 1 January to 6 April showed a total of 1,477 cases since the start of the year, with 63 deaths recorded.

The DoH assured that outbreak response immunization is ongoing as it continues to await the arrival of three million pentavalent vaccine doses by June or earlier.

The health department is also waiting to obtain DPT doses to prevent the anticipated shortfall in vaccines by May.

In the past six weeks, the regions that showed a continuous increase in the number of pertussis cases are Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region and Bicol Region.

Of the total, pertussis cases thus far recorded, 76 percent were less than five years old. Adults aged 20 and older accounted for only four percent of cases.

The DoH said it was cautious in interpreting trends as the number of cases may still change as there may be late consultations and reports.

Furthermore, 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.

“Just like in the emergency room, the fast and focused pace of an outbreak response highlights areas for improvement so we can save lives better,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said.

“We are looking at adopting processes like framework agreements for procurement so that we can buy the vaccines faster. This is the way forward, even as we exhaust all possible means now to get what we need,” Herbosa added.