BACOLOD CITY – The City Health Office (CHO) is monitoring suspected cases of pertussis or whooping cough here.
It has sent specimens of two suspected cases of pertussis to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa City for confirmatory test.
Dr. Grace Tan, head of the Environment Sanitation Division of the City Health Office (CHO), said the patients are two babies aged six-weeks and two-months-old who are currently admitted to hospitals.
Pertussis is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Last week, this city first reported one probable case of pertussis when a two-month old baby girl, who is not from this city, was admitted to a hospital here, and was later discharged.
The CHO is awaiting the results of the confirmatory test of all three suspected cases.
Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, in a media interview on Tuesday, April 2, said the city has zero cases of pertussis at present.
Benitez encouraged the people to visit barangay health centers for free pertussis vaccination for children aged five and below.