Pertussis or whooping cough outbreak declared in Quezon City

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 — 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: “Idineklara ngayong araw ni Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte ang ‘pertussis outbreak’ sa buong lungsod Quezon.”

(Today, Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte declared a ‘pertussis outbreak’ in the entire city of Quezon.)

“Mataas ito kumpara sa kaso noong 2023 sa kaparehong buwan na walang naitalang kaso,” 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 ‘Champion of the Earth’

The DOH defined pertussis or whooping cough as a “highly contagious” 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 “ubong-dalahit” or “tuspirina,” according to the DOH.