CITY OF SAN FERNANDO---The Department of Health (DOH) in Central Luzon reported 86 cases of Pertussis in Region 3 as of April 13, 2024.
In its post on Thursday, the agency said that Tarlac province recorded the most number of cases at 32.
Tarlac was followed by Pampanga with 18; Bataan, 14; Bulacan, eight; Zambales, eight; Nueva Ecija, 4; and Angeles City, two.
No cases have been recorded in Aurora province and Olongapo City.
No deaths were reported in the region for the period April 7 to 13, 2024.
The number of fatalities recorded this year stands at seven, with three deaths reported in Pampanga; one in Bataan, one in Bulacan, one in Tarlac; and one in Angeles City.
The DOH noted that the current number of cases is 8,600 percent higher than in 2023 where no Pertussis cases were logged.
The agency said that the average number of current cases is six per day.
Majority of the patients were children less than six months old and the rest are from the age group one to 10 years old.
The DOH said it is exercising caution in interpreting trends as the number of cases may still change as there may be late consultations and reports.
The effects of increasing immunization efforts to stem the outbreak may not be seen in the data until four to six weeks after they started, the agency added.
Of the 86 cases in Central Luzon, 59 or 69 percent are unvaccinated, the DOH said.
It added that eight or nine percent of the figure have been vaccinated with one dose; four or five percent vaccinated with two doses; 13 or 15 percent vaccinated with three doses; and two or two percent noted with "unknown dose."
The agency advised the public to practice proper hygience, masking, handwashing and getting immunized or vaccinated to prevent Pertussis.