By Liezelle Soriano
MANILA — Antipolo City Mayor Jun Ynares confirmed that 10 out of 16 barangays in the city have reported cases of Pertussis, with nine confirmed cases and 10 suspected cases.
“The basis of the Department of Health (DOH) in determining whether a barangay has a case is even if it’s not yet confirmed, as long as there are suspects with symptoms, not yet confirmed in the laboratory… Once there are symptoms suspected to be Pertussis, that’s already considered a case by the DOH,” Ynares explained in a radio interview on Friday (April 5, 2024).
The mayor advised adults experiencing coughs and colds to avoid contact with children or wear face masks, as some of these children acquired the illness from their parents.
The Antipolo City local government and DOH have been collaborating on immunizing babies; however, Ynares mentioned that vaccines against Pertussis are currently insufficient.
Meanwhile, the local chief executive stated that the LGU has procured vaccines against Pertussis for its constituents.
Earlier, the DOH recorded 862 cases of Pertussis nationwide, with 79 percent of these cases involving children under five years old.
(el Amigo/MNM)
