The City Health Office (CHO) advised Kagay-anons on Monday to take precautions in response to recent outbreaks of dengue, measles and pertussis or whooping cough across the country.

 

During Monday morning’s flag raising program which the CHO hosted, City Health Officer Dr. Rachel Daba-Dilla said the city recorded one measles death since early this year—a one-year-old whose parents refused to have their child vaccinated, she said.

 

‘They signed their refusal (and we can’t do anything about it),’ Dr. Dilla said in Visayan. She said they’re encouraging all parents and their grandparents to have their children aged months to one year old to have them vaccinated from measles.

 

‘There’s already a measles outbreak in the Bangsamoro region and we’re only waiting probably two weeks time it may arrive here (so it’s best we are prepared),’ she said.

 

Dr. Dilla also warned the public to guard against contracting either dengue or pertussis or whooping cough following pertussis outbreaks in Iloilo City in the Visayas and Pasig City and Quezon City in Luzon.

 

‘We expect a surge in dengue cases this year since dengue is cyclical. Every two to three years, the country experiences a surge in dengue cases,’ Dr. Dilla said.

 

The CHO had yet to disclose the number of dengue cases for January to March of this year. But in January to May last year, Cagayan de Oro logged 482 dengue fever cases which is 28 percent lower than the 676 cases recorded for the same period in 2022.

 

‘We expect more cases due to the El Niño phenomenon, when households store more water (usually uncovered),’ she said.

Dr. Dilla reminded households to always cover their water containers to keep away dengue carrying mosquitoes.

 

As far as whooping cough outbreaks are concerned, Dr. Dilla encouraged the public to wear face masks whenever possible.

 

The Iloilo City Health Office declared an outbreak after the city logged seven whooping cough cases as of March 24. Quezon City logged 23 cases while Pasig City recorded 17 pertussis cases of whom two infants died. Most of the victims were children.

 

‘This (whooping cough) is a vaccine preventable disease. Problem is, ever since we achieved a high vaccination rate (from COVID-19), we had neglected to (vaccinate our children from other diseases),’ Dr. Dilla said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)