DOH, hinihikayat ang publiko na magpabakuna laban sa pertussis
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00:00 Declaration of outbreak in Quezon City and the request of the Department of Health to vaccinate against pertussis or whooping cough.
00:10 We will discuss this with Dr. Ron Jean Solante, Infectious Diseases Expert and President of the Philippine College of Physicians.
00:20 Good afternoon, Doc.
00:22 Yes, good afternoon, Nina.
00:24 The Department of Health is requesting the public to vaccinate against pertussis.
00:32 Dr. Ron Jean, can you explain to us what this disease is and how it is transmitted to other people?
00:39 Okay, pertussis is not new in our country, Nina, because we have had several of these cases.
00:48 These are regular cases that we see every year, but to children. We don't see this many cases, only 24 or 25.
00:58 Common manifestation, common symptoms of pertussis, just like when you have a fever, less fever, but the fever is really the one that is very characteristic.
01:11 This fever is really continuous to the point that when you have a fever, sometimes it will cause you to have difficulty in breathing.
01:21 You may have difficulty in breathing because when you have a fever, you are also exhausting the oxygen in your body.
01:27 Especially when the affected person is young, the rate of shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing is really high.
01:37 Dr. Solante, aside from vaccinating, is there another way to avoid pertussis and how quickly can this disease be controlled?
01:48 Okay, one of the ways that we can prevent, especially when there are symptoms at home, is what we call COVID-19, wearing face masks.
01:59 Especially for those who have vulnerable populations at home, like the elderly.
02:05 Not only can the children be affected, but also the elderly, especially if they are not vaccinated with pertussis.
02:13 So wash your hands, wear face masks at home, and at the same time, if you have symptoms, consult a doctor because there is also a disease, pertussis, that needs to be given to prevent the infection.
02:26 How dangerous is it to let the disease of pertussis or whooping cough go, especially for children?
02:34 Is it possible for this disease to become fatal? And what is the most dangerous age to get infected with the disease of pertussis?
02:44 The complications of pertussis is when the cough does not stop, you can lose air in your body, you can have respiratory failure, you can have pneumonia,
02:59 you can have convulsion, you can have encephalopathy, the child's sensor limb can be affected. This is very dangerous for children less than one year old, especially infants who are not vaccinated.
03:16 So it is very important that if you have these symptoms, consult a doctor and go to the health center to get tested and give proper advice and intervention.
03:29 Dr. Rodjien, the Quezon City Local Government has declared a pertussis outbreak. What can you say about this?
03:37 This is one of the factors that we should consider when vaccinating vulnerable populations, especially children.
03:49 We should not panic but it is something that we need to monitor because pertussis is not just for children or infants,
03:59 it is also for the elderly because it can be a complication and can be fatal. It is very important to prevent the increase of cases because we know that it is not just the Quezon City that can get infected.
04:12 The entire National Capital Region, because of the dense population, can get infected, including the adult population, the elderly, who are not exempted from this kind of infection.
04:27 This is a sick whooping cough or pertussis, sir. It's a bacterial infection, is that right? And the medicine here is antibiotics?
04:39 Yes, this is a bacterial infection caused by Bordetella pertussis. It's a microbial, the name of the microbial. And it is treatable by antibiotics but it's also highly preventable by the vaccine.
04:53 You mentioned the use of face masks. Some of them have already been vaccinated. Do you recommend wearing face masks again?
05:04 Yes, I highly recommend, especially to the children at this point in time. Since we are declaring an infection that can be transmitted through respiratory droplets,
05:16 then I would highly encourage the children to go to school or those who are entering the school to wear face masks.
05:23 These symptoms are very obvious. As a mother, I know that it is included in the basic vaccines for children, the pertussis vaccine.
05:35 So it's very important, especially if you are not vaccinated. And how, what else, for adults, are our people like us vulnerable to this disease?
05:49 Yes, we are. We will look at the cycle of transmission of pertussis.
05:55 We also think that there are carriers of adults who were not vaccinated or carrying this infection in their households where unvaccinated children were exposed.
06:06 The adults are also one of the sources of infection. So it's important for the adults to go to their doctors, especially those who are older,
06:16 to get vaccinated so that they are protected and not transmitted to the children.
06:22 So even adults are also vulnerable to this disease?
06:25 Yes, they are also vulnerable.
06:26 So should we also get vaccinated in this time? Is that your advice?
06:30 Yes, because we have a recommendation for adults that when you are 19 years old and above, at least you should get a vaccine for pertussis.
06:39 Particularly for those who are 60 years old and above, they should get a vaccine for pertussis because these are the vulnerable populations, just like the infants, just like the babies.
06:49 Message and advice to our countrymen who are watching us now.
06:55 To the mothers, if your children are not yet vaccinated and are eligible to be given the vaccine, contact the health centers to get vaccinated.
07:09 And to the children in the community, I highly advise that you should wear a face mask and more importantly, those who have symptoms, go to the doctor to examine and get the complications of pertussis.
07:24 Thank you very much for your time, Dr. Rod Gene Solante, infectious diseases expert and president of the Philippine College of Physicians.