Negros Occidental has 64 reported cases of pertussis or whooping cough as of Monday, May 6, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Girlie Pinongan said.
Of the 64 probable cases, 14 are confirmed, 33 are negative, and 16 are probable cases.
She said the latest confirmed pertussis case is a one-year-old male baby.
As of this writing, Negros Occidental has two fatalities, with one of them a confirmed pertussis case, while the other is negative based on the confirmation laboratory test of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicines (RITM).
Pinongan, meanwhile, said the vaccines for pertussis from the Department of Health have not yet arrived and that the provincial government will purchase its vaccines to cater to the local needs.*