MANILA: The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday said pertussis cases are low nationwide, noting a gradual decline starting last May. From 131 cases for the period of July 7 to 20, the tally went down to 77 from July 21 to Aug. 3. The cases further went down to 19 cases from Aug. 4 to 17. Only four regions -Cagayan Valley, National Capital Region, Western Visayas, and Davao Region- reported an increase in the past six weeks from Aug. 17. The country has logged 3,827 cases from Jan. 1 to Aug. 17 or 13 times more than the 291 cases reported in the same period last year. Bulk of the cases were recorded last March and April, when the DOH went into outbreak response immunization mode. "About 500,000 doses of DPT-Hep B-HiB or Pentavalent vaccine arrived this month and are now in cold storage. Paperwork is being finalized prior to their distribution to government health centers nationwide," the DOH said. Another 750,000 doses of Pentavalent vaccines are set to arrive next week, it added. Source: Philippin es News agency