Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte declares a pertussis or whooping cough outbreak on Thursday, March 21, 2024, as the local government logged 23 cases of the bacterial disease since the start of the year. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte declared a pertussis or whooping cough outbreak on Thursday as the local government logged 23 cases of the bacterial disease since the start of the year.
The Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Division (QCESD) said the number of infections was tallied from January 1 to March 20.
On Facebook, QCESD said:聽鈥淚dineklara ngayong araw ni Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte ang 鈥榩ertussis outbreak鈥� sa buong lungsod Quezon.鈥�
(Today, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte declared a 鈥榩ertussis outbreak鈥� in the entire city of Quezon.)
鈥淢ataas ito kumpara sa kaso noong 2023 sa kaparehong buwan na walang naitalang kaso,鈥� it added.
(This is high compared to the case in 2023 in the same month where no case was recorded.)
READ: DOH logs 453 cases of whooping cough in first 10 weeks of 2024
Earlier, the Department of Health (DOH) also reported a significant increase in the nationwide logged cases of pertussis during the first 10 weeks of 2024 than in the previous years. It said that from January 1 to mid-March this year, 453 individuals were documented to have contracted pertussis.
Based on its data, the DOH noted that 52 pertussis cases were recorded in the first 10 weeks of 2019, 27 in 2020, seven in 2021, two in 2022, and 23 in 2023.
READ: QC Mayor Belmonte designated 鈥楥hampion of the Earth鈥�
The DOH defined pertussis or whooping cough as a 鈥渉ighly contagious鈥� bacterial respiratory infection that manifests through influenza-like symptoms such as mild fever, colds, and coughs seven to 10 days after exposure.
The disease can be treated with antibiotics and prevented through vaccination.
Locally, pertussis is known as 鈥渦bong-dalahit鈥� or 鈥渢uspirina,鈥� according to the DOH.