• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental has logged one confirmed case of pertussis or whooping cough and six more suspected cases as of yesterday.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said the sample taken from a two-month-old female infant admitted at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in Bacolod City was confirmed to be pertussis.
The infant is now in stable condition, Lacson said.
In Bacolod, the City Health Office (CHO) reported three suspected cases of pertussis.
Dr. Grace Tan, head of the CHO Environmental Sanitation Division, said they have submitted three samples from the babies hit with probable pertussis.
The infants are aged six weeks to two months old, who are all admitted in hospitals.
Lacson said that Negrenses should be conscious of pertussis, stressing that it is not an ordinary cough.
“Let’s be vigilant and wear masks, especially in crowded areas and indoor places,” he added.
According to the Department of Health, pertussis can be transmitted through respiratory droplets.
The bacteria responsible for whooping cough spreads easily through coughing and sneezing, even among individuals with mild or asymptomatic cases.
Pertussis can cause serious illness in people of all ages, but is most dangerous for babies.
Pertussis starts as a mild cough and cold that lasts about two weeks, followed by paroxysms or fits of coughing which lasts up to six weeks, it added. | GB
