DOH can't say pertussis situation is under control as cases continue to rise

It is still not certain if the transmission of the “whooping cough” or pertussis in the country is already manageable as cases continue to increase and vaccines start to get depleted, the Department of Health (DOH) said Wednesday.

“Hindi natin masasabing under control sapagkat nadadagdagan pa ang bilang,” DOH Undersecretary Eric Tayag admitted in an Unang Balita interview.

(We cannot say that it is under control because the number is still rising.)

Tayag said this as the number of pertussis cases nationwide climbed to 862, recorded from January 1 to March 23, 2024. This was 30 times higher than cases in the same period last year.

Forty-nine deaths due to pertussis have been registered so far.

Pertussis cases

Mimaropa reported the most number of cases at 187. Next was the National Capital Region with 158, Central Luzon with 132 cases, Central Visayas with 121 cases, and Western Visayas with 72 cases.

Of the pertussis cases recorded thus far, the DOH said 79% were less than 5 years old. At least six out of ten (66%) of these young children were also either unvaccinated or did not know their vaccination history.

Adults aged 20 and older, meanwhile, accounted for only 4% of cases.

Tayag said the DOH is still awaiting the vaccines it procured from UNICEF to add up to the almost exhausted vaccine supply in the Philippines.

“Malapit nang maubos ang bakuna. Nagkukulang na po. May kinalaman din ‘yan sa pandaigdigang kakulangan,” he said.

(The vaccines are about to get depleted. They’re almost exhausted. That also has something to do with the global shortage of vaccines.)

The DOH has underscored the importance of vaccination to combat pertussis, saying that it is safe and effective.

Infants as young as 6 weeks may already receive the pentavalent vaccine for free at government health centers. This 5-in-1 vaccine includes protection against DPT or diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, as well as Hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae type B.

The Philippine College of Physicians (PCP) said that vaccination against pertussis should not stop at an early age as even adolescents and adults must get a booster shot to protect themselves against the highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News