PERTUSSIS COMPOSITE IMAGE FROM INQUIRER FILE AND STOCK PHOTOS
LUCENA CITY — The number of “confirmed” pertussis cases in the Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region rose to 103 from only 81 in one week, the Department of Health (DOH) reported.
On Tuesday, April 9, the DOH-Center for Health Development Calabarzon (DOH-CHD 4A) released its Morbidity Week 14 record covering Jan. 1 to April 6 and listed that Laguna and Cavite had the highest number of confirmed pertussis cases with 27 each.
Of their confirmed pertussis patients, at least five died in Cavite, while Laguna had three fatalities.
In its Morbidity Week 13 record (Jan. 1 to March 30), the agency recorded only 81 confirmed cases.
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The DOH defines a “confirmed” case if the patient has an “acute cough illness of any duration with a positive culture for B. pertussis; if it meets the clinical case definition and is confirmed by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test; and if it is epidemiologically linked directly to a case confirmed by either culture or PCR.”
Based on the latest record, in Laguna, at least 15 of the confirmed cases are from Santa Rosa City, followed by San Pedro City (4), Calamba City (6), and (2) Los Baños.
“Due to the pertussis outbreak, the City of Santa Rosa declared a state of calamity,” the DOH-CHD 4A said in a press statement on Wednesday.
On March 27, Cavite had also declared a state of calamity in the wake of the pertussis outbreak in the province.
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On April 8, the DOH in the region posted the latest update from its “pertussis tracker” on the Facebook page of its Health Education and Promotion Unit.
The tracker covers the recorded 276 “confirmed” and “clinical” cases from Jan. 1 to April 6. At least 15 of the recorded patients died.
Cavite topped the list with 67 cases followed by Rizal, 60; Laguna, 56; Batangas, 52; Quezon, 38; and Lucena City, 3.
Health authorities define a “clinical” case if the patient shows coughing lasting at least 2 weeks characterized by at least one of the following: paroxysms (i.e. fits) of coughing; inspiratory “whooping”; post-tussive vomiting (i.e. vomiting immediately after coughing); or without other apparent cause.