BAGUIO CITY (PIA) -- The City Health Services Office (CHSO) urged pregnant mothers to get vaccinated against pertussis to ensure the protection of their child from the said respiratory disease.
 
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is among the six killer diseases of under five children, according to the Department of Health.

"We advise to give it at 26 weeks of gestation. So, seven months, dapat binibigyan na 'yung buntis para maprotektahan 'yung anak niya even at birth," Dr. Donnabel Tubera-Panes of CHSO said.
 
The city has logged four cases of pertussis  involving 2-month old, 3-month old, 1-month old, and 4-month old babies.
 
Panes said all of these babies were vaccinated but the antibodies produced were not enough to protect them.
 
She said that mothers are supposed to give antibodies to their babies during pregnancy.

"Bakit hindi niya naprotektahan 'yung baby niya nung buntis siya? Probably because the mothers were not vaccinated against pertussis," Panes said.
 
She  emphasized that pregnant mothers need to get the vaccine against pertussis from private providers since this is not available under the DOH's immunization program.
 
The CHSO's current stock of vaccines for the regular immunization of babies against pertussis is 5,460 doses, which will last until August 2024.
 
The DOH earlier said that additional doses of vaccines against pertussis is expected to arrive in the Philippines by June this year.
 
Another way to prevent the spread of pertussis is to follow the minimum public health standards such as observing cough and sneezing etiquette, practicing good hygiene, taking extra caution when going out with children, and consulting medical professionals for signs and symptoms.
 
The City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit is open to conduct  swab tests for suspected pertussis, and samples will be sent to the Regional Institute for Tropical Medicine for confirmation.
 
Meanwhile, the DOH Cordillera is in close coordination with the local epidemiology and surveillance units, provincial and city health offices, and hospitals for monitoring of cases. From January 1 to March 9, 2024, there were 18 suspect cases of pertussis in the region. (JDP/DEG-PIA CAR)