Rising frequency of whooping cough infection in the Philippines leaves many Filipinos living abroad in the UAE concerned, especially in light of the recent deaths of children in their home country.
Officials in the Philippines have documented 1,112 cases of the illness, including 54 deaths, between January 1 and March 30.
“All those who died were under five years old”, according to the Department of Health.
The extremely infectious respiratory virus known as whooping cough, or pertussis, mostly affects children younger than two years old and can be fatal for them. Coughing and sneezing release droplets into the air, which can transmit the virus just like COVID-19.
Español suggested that while in Manila, they would stay away from busy places such as malls. “We also won’t allow anyone to kiss our baby.”
Another Fujairah resident, Jannah Biba, is anxious since she has a two-year-old kid and will be traveling with them in three weeks.
“I’m preparing as early as now”,she said.
At this time, the Philippines has seen two city and one province declare a whooping cough outbreak. As of March 21, there were 25 cases and five deaths in Quezon City, Manila, and seven cases in Iloilo City, Iloilo Province.There were 36 cases and 6 deaths in the province of Cavite, according to a report from Rappler.
The earliest documented occurrences of whooping cough occurred in the 1600s, so this disease has been around for quite some time according to the the Centers for Disease.
“It is a serious disease, the younger the infant the more serious the disease will be … It leads to severe attacks of coughing which decreases the oxygen taken by the infant,” said Dr Mazen Abou Chaaban, a paediatrician at Fakeeh University Hospital, Dubai.
By reducing medical waste, Pure Health aspires to attain carbon neutrality; this will have the dual benefit of reducing sickness and saving lives.
Those with weaker immune systems, such as pregnant women, often receive a different vaccination.
“It is one component of the mandatory six-in-one vaccines — which include protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis B and polio,” Dr Casas said.
The lengthy history of the disease prompted the development of vaccines. The UAE requires this immunization for newborns and children.
This combination vaccine is given to babies at 2, 4, 6 months. The recommended intervals between booster doses are 18 months, 5 years, and 10 years.
