Pertussis cases decline in Iloilo City

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

The Iloilo City government reported Monday that the spread of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is slowing in the city, particularly among early and school-aged children.

According to the latest data from the Iloilo City Health Office (ICHO), there have been 12 cases of pertussis reported, with only one new case identified on Monday.

Dr. Annabel Tang, chief of ICHO, during Mayor Jerry Treñas’ regular press conference, explained that the recent case was previously logged as probable but has now been confirmed.

She cited the speed of testing with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa City, which is currently the only laboratory in the country capacitated of testing for pertussis from collected blood samples.

She also highlighted the absence of new probable cases in the last two weeks, attributing this to several factors including outbreak response immunization, educational campaigns, and post-exposure prophylaxis provided to confirmed or probable cases.

“Hopefully, it will definitely go down in the next few weeks and we are praying that there will no longer be infections,” Tang said.

The announcement comes amid challenges with vaccine supplies in the city. The ICHO used up 6,085 doses of vaccines provided by the Department of Health, administered between April 16 and 18.

The supply included 790 doses for children aged 0 to 12 months, 972 doses for those aged 13 to 23 months, and 4,323 doses for children aged 24 to 59 months.

An initial order of 3,570 vaccines, which arrived on April 20, is currently being administered to children in the highest priority group, aged 0 to 12 months, with additional orders expected in July.

The remaining unvaccinated children include 4,344 aged two years, 17,446 aged two to five years, and 8,844 aged four to five years. Among those aged four to five years, some may already qualify for the Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis (TDaP) vaccine.

Additionally, 893 doses of the TDaP vaccine have been administered to pregnant women in their third trimester and those in the post-partum period.

Dr. Roland Jay Fortuna, ICHO’s epidemiology point person, noted that medical technologists at the Uswag Molecular Laboratory in the Molo district have been trained to detect and confirm pertussis.

The city has allocated P16.9 million from its Quick Response Fund to fight pertussis, with P300,000 set aside for training under the RITM. This effort includes using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing, a method also used during previous outbreaks of COVID-19 and acute gastroenteritis.