BACOLOD City – The City Health Office (CHO) emphasizes the importance of immunization as it waits for the confirmatory test results of the suspected case of pertussis, or whooping cough.
Atty. Caesar Distrito, spokesperson for Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, revealed this in a press conference yesterday, March 25.
Although recently admitted to one of the hospitals here, Distrito clarified that the patient is a non-resident of this city, noting that any report from the epidemiology center will have to pass through Bacolod’s CHO.
The patient is a 2-month-old female who was admitted on March 17 and discharged on March 23, according to CHO Environment Sanitation Division chief Dr. Grace Tan.
As of this writing, Tan said they are still awaiting the result from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
The physician advised parents and guardians to have their children immunized. Those who are unable to receive their shot are the ones prone to the illness, Tan emphasized.
In cases of symptoms like coughs and colds, she urged to seek early medical attention.
Pertussis, or whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can be particularly severe in infants and young children.
It is acquired primarily through direct contact with discharges from the respiratory mucus membranes of infected persons.
Its symptoms include a cough persisting for two or more weeks, paroxysms, or sudden attacks of the illness, which usually occur at night, followed by vomiting and exhaustion./PN
