Pertussis Outbreak in the Philippines: A Public Health Crisis
The Philippines is currently grappling with a significant outbreak of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough. The contagious respiratory illness, caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria, has seen a sharp increase in cases, affecting several cities across the country.
Iloilo City Under State of Calamity
Iloilo City was placed under a state of calamity on Tuesday due to the pertussis outbreak. The declaration came after the City Health Office (CHO)-Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit officially recorded a total of 16 suspected cases of pertussis, with seven confirmed cases. The state of calamity status allows the city government to utilize the calamity fund, which will be used to procure medicines and vaccines and for other strengthened measures and responses against the infectious disease.
Quezon City Declares Outbreak
In Quezon City, Mayor Joy Belmonte declared a pertussis outbreak as the local government logged 23 cases of the bacterial disease since the start of the year. The number of infections was tallied from January 1 to March 20.
Nationwide Increase in Pertussis Cases
The Department of Health (DOH) reported a significant increase in pertussis cases during the first 10 weeks of 2024 compared to the same period in previous years. There were only 52 pertussis cases in the first 10 weeks of 2019, 27 in 2020, 7 in 2021, 2 in 2022, and 23 in 2023. However, this has notably increased as the number of pertussis cases in the first 10 weeks of the year was already at 453.
The DOH is urgently working with local government units and partners to boost the public’s immunization for vaccine-preventable diseases such as pertussis. The department also said that experts link the international lifting of COVID-19 restrictions to the increased transmission of diseases preventable by vaccines.
As the country continues to battle this outbreak, the focus remains on containment, treatment, and prevention through vaccination.