The Department of Health on Thursday urged the public to catch up on their routine vaccinations as cases of pertussis and measles rise in the country and Quezon City formally reported an outbreak of whooping cough with three deaths reported.
In a statement, the DOH said it intends to vaccinate at least 90 percent of the high-risk population, especially among children aged six months to 10 years, following the recent spike in the cases of pertussis, measles, and rubella across the country.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said a non-selective Outbreak Response Immunization (ORI) strategy for measles and rubella is being implemented in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Pertussis or whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection that causes influenza-like symptoms of mild fever, colds, and coughs 7 to 10 days after exposure, the DOH said.
The agency said it recorded 453 cases of vaccine-preventable pertussis in the first 10 weeks of 2024. During the same period last year, the DOH only recorded a total of 23 pertussis cases.
Across Metro Manila, the DOH is monitoring outbreaks in the following cities apart from QC: Pasig (26 cases), Taguig (13), Manila (10), Caloocan (7), Marikina and Valenzuela (6 each), and Mandaluyong and Muntinlupa (5 each).
In Quezon City, Mayor Joy Belmonte said they had 23 confirmed cases in the last 3 months, with four confirmed deaths, all children. The city had 27 cases for the whole of 2023, with just thee deaths.
Belmonte lamented the DOH’s scarcity of pentavalent vaccine to prevent the spread of the disease and deaths among infants. But the mayor asked the public to stay calm and vigilant while taking precautionary measures.
“If only there were enough supply (of vaccines), we will not declare an outbreak. We now need the full cooperation of the QCitizens to participate in ensuring the disease will not spread since the intervention, which is the vaccine, is not enough for unvaccinated babies. We have not received doses of vaccines for a long time,” she added.
The Health department added: “Disruptions in routine immunization at primary care during the (COVID-19) pandemic are seen to be the main reason why.”
Meanwhile, the DOH said it has recorded a total of 569 measles and rubella cases as of Feb. 24.
All regions, except for Bicol and Central Visayas, reported an increase in measles and rubella infections in the recent month, it noted.
According to the DOH, children under five years old and the unvaccinated are the most affected.
Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease spread by sneezing, coughing, and close personal contact. Its symptoms include cough, runny nose, red eyes, fever, and skin rashes lasting for more than 3 days.
Complications include diarrhea, middle ear infection, pneumonia, encephalitis or swelling of the brain, malnutrition, and blindness which may lead to death, according to the DOH website.
Rubella or “tigdas hangin” infection in pregnant women may cause fetal death or birth defects, said the agency.
Herbosa reminded the public to get their pentavalent diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus, hepatitis B, and haemophilus influenza type B (DPT-HepB-HiB) and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines, which are available for free at local health centers.