ILOILO CITY: A one-month-old baby was the first fatality of the highly contagious pertussis, or whooping cough, in this city.

City Mayor Jerry Treñas confirmed this in a message on April 13 via Viber, as reported by the Department of Health (DoH) Western Visayas.

"We have a reported death due to pertussis. It is a one-month-old baby. We have been procuring vaccines for pediatric patients, but there is really a shortage," he said.

The City Health Office (CHO) recently confirmed that it procured 3,700 vials of hexavalent vaccines to be used in the outbreak response immunization for children ages 0 to 59 months.

The CHO said the decision to procure hexavalent vaccines was prompted by a shortage of pentavalent vaccine doses in the market.

The DoH said that the vaccines against pertussis are "enough" but hinted at a possible shortage by May.

Treñas, meanwhile, urged the DoH to "help and assist the local government units in the supply of pertussis vaccines so that we can provide protection for our population."

The DoH is set to deliver 6,000 doses of pentavalent vaccines to the city this week, Treñas said.

"Our city health doctors and nurses will immediately ramp up the vaccination of our infants right away using these vaccines," he added.

As of April 13, Iloilo City had 10 confirmed cases, out of the 30 reported cases, of pertussis.

The cases of pertussis were recorded in the districts of Arevalo, Jaro, Mandurriao, and Molo.

Iloilo City was placed under a state of calamity due to pertussis on March 26, 2024.