• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental has logged its first pertussis-related fatality, which is among the 11 confirmed cases as of April 15.
Dr. Ma. Girlie Pinongan, provincial health officer, said on Monday (April 15) that the fatality is a one-month-old baby, who died last week at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City.
The 11 confirmed cases include five in Negros Occidental and six in Bacolod City.
Of the 36 suspected pertussis-related cases in Negros Occidental, five turned out to be positive, including the one fatality, while five others had negative results, based on the examination results issued by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
The remaining 26 suspected cases are still being examined by the RITM.
In the highly-urbanized Bacolod City, there are six positive cases of pertussis and five negative cases.
Two others are still pending for validation by the RITM.
Pinongan, however, said that there is no outbreak of pertussis or whooping cough in Negros Occidental, based on the criteria of the Department of Health (DOH).
The situation in the province is manageable, she added.
The cases range from a month-old infant to 62 years old.
While waiting for the arrival of pertussis vaccines from the DOH, the provincial government is buying 10,000 doses of such vaccines.
Pertussis or whooping cough is an infection of the respiratory system caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria. | GB
