Iloilo City has recorded its first death due to pertussis, a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria, this year.
In a statement on Saturday, April 13, City Mayor Jerry Treñas said a one-month-old baby succumbed to pertussis or whooping cough.
From January 1 to April 12, the CIty Health Office recorded 10 confirmed cases of the disease.
Treñas appealed to the Department of Health (DOH) to help local government units (LGUs) acquire vaccines against pertussis “so that we can give protection to our population.”
“We have been procuring vaccines for pedia patients but there is really a shortage,” he said.
The city is currently under a state of calamity due to the pertussis outbreak.
According to DOH, Pertussis usually hits infants, but it can also affect children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly.IMT
