State of calamity declared in Cavite due to pertussis outbreak

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The Province of Cavite has declared a state of calamity due to the rising cases of pertussis or whooping cough.

The Cavite Provincial Information Office posted Resolution No. 3050-2024 on social media on Wednesday night. The resolution stated that “The province of Cavite under a state of calamity due to the outbreak of Pertussis.”

The resolution also said that there have been a total of 36 cases of pertussis in the province as of March 25, 2024, citing the Provincial Epidemiology Surveillance Unit.

The breakdown of cases are as follows:

• City of Bacoor – 6 cases; 1 dead
• City of Trece Martires – 6
• City of General Trias – 5 cases; 2 dead
• Municipality of General Mariano Alvarez – 4 cases
• City of Carmona – 3 cases; 1 dead
• Municipality of Silang – 3 cases
• City of Dasmariñas – 2 cases
• Municipality of Kawit – 2 cases
• City of Imus – 2 cases; 1 dead
• City of Cavite – 1 case
• City of Tagaytay – 1 case
• Municipality of General Emilio Aguinaldo – 1 case; 1 dead

On Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) said 28 new pertussis or whooping cough cases were recorded in the country from March 10 to 16, bringing the total number this year to 568.

The DOH said that the 568 pertussis cases logged from January 1 to March 16, 2024, were more than 20 times higher than the recorded cases during the same period last year, which was 26.

Forty deaths due to the highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection have also been reported so far.

The National Capital Region (NCR) alone accounted for 27% (58 cases) of the total confirmed cases among all regions.

Aside from the NCR, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Mimaropa, and Central Visayas had the most number of local government units which showed case increases.

The DOH has been encouraging parents or guardians to have infants as young as 6 weeks old to get the pentavalent vaccine for free at government health centers. This vaccine would protect not only against pertussis, but also against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Hepatitis B, and Haemophilus influenzae type B. —VAL, GMA Integrated News

This article State of calamity declared in Cavite due to pertussis outbreak was originally published in GMA News Online.