Bacolod City recorded one suspected case of pertussis, or whooping cough, and the patient is not a resident of the city, lawyer Ceasar Distrito, spokesperson of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, said on Monday, March 25.
Benitez said that based on the report submitted by the City Health Office (CHO) to Benitez, the patient, a two-month-old female, is now confined in a hospital in Bacolod.
He said they are still waiting for the confirmation result from the Department of Health (DOH)-Western Visayas.
He added pertussis is like an ordinary cough and most of the patients were infants and young children.
Distrito noted that pertussis is very contagious respiratory illness caused by a type of bacteria called Bordetella pertussis.
He said Benitez and the CHO also urged the young children to avoid going out, especially the unvaccinated infants because of the threat of infection.
If going out is unavoidable, the young children should avoid going to crowded places the markets, and malls, he added.
“And for the adults, it’s also recommended to always wear masks to avoid infection when they go home, especially when they have infants,” he added.
Distrito stressed that the CHO also intensified its vaccination program for the infants in various barangays.
“We have enough supplies of vaccines for the infants that distributed to various barangay health centers,” Distrito said.*