DOH: Mostly infants below 6 months old succumb to pertussis

(INQUIRER file photo / LYN RILLON)

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa on Wednesday said that the majority of those who succumbed to pertussis or whooping cough  that the DOH has recorded were infants below six months old.

According to Herbosa, these were the infants that had not yet received their pertussis vaccination. “We’re finding that among the kids na nahahawa, ang pinakamarami ‘yong below six months. So ito ‘yong hindi pa nakaschedule for vaccination, ito ‘yong bata na dapat naproprotektahan siya ng antibodies from a mother, so usually nagbibigay kami ng bakuna sa nanay, pero AB, tetanus diphtheria lang, walang pertussis,” Herbosa said.

(We’re finding that among the kids who get sick, most are below six months old. So they are not yet scheduled for vaccination. A child should be protected by antibodies from a mother, so usually, we give vaccines to the mother: the AB, tetanus, diphtheria only, no pertussis.)

Herbosa said that a vaccine that can be administered to pregnant mothers so that they can pass the pertussis antibodies to their children is now available in the Philippines.

Herbosa likewise advised parents to bring their children with pertussis symptoms to a medical facility as soon as possible before the disease worsens.

“Akala noong nanay, ubo-ubo lang yan na mawawala within two to three days. Pero by ninth day kita niya hindi pa gumagaling anak niya, baka lumalala, tsaka pa lang dinadala sa ospital, late na ‘yon kasi di na natin maagapan ng antibiotic, baka kaya namatay,” Herbosa added.

(The mother thinks it’s a simple cough that will disappear within two to three days. But by the ninth day, she sees that her child hasn’t healed yet, perhaps, has worsened, and only then will she bring her child to hospital. But it’s too late, because it can’t be addressed by antibiotics, which is probably  why it resulted in death.)

The Department of Health said that pertussis vaccines may be in short supply by May, but it is sourcing other vaccines that can also fight the disease.

Pertussis is caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis or Bordetella parapertussis, which causes cough, colds, and fever. The DOH said that from January 1 to March 30, it recorded 1,112 cases with 54 deaths.