2024-04-23 07:41:19
– When we were preparing for this interview, there were not so many cases of whooping cough in Lithuania, currently we have over 30 cases of this infectious disease. How do you assess the situation?
– Whooping cough cases are really increasing, it is likely that we are at the very beginning of the peak, and there may be more cases. If we look at the statistics, there have been more cases – for example, 233 cases were registered in 2009, 154 cases in 2012, compared to only 7 cases last year. But the current situation is quite different from the previous peaks of the disease.
In the past, most of the patients were mildly ill, they received outpatient treatment at home, the disease was often diagnosed in teenagers, in search of the cause of a prolonged cough. Currently, among the sick, we have quite a few patients in hospital, children are much more seriously ill, among the registered cases – as many as 11 babies. Bearing in mind that whooping cough is extremely dangerous for babies and young children, the situation is alarming.
Until recently – in 2012 and in 2015 – we had 1 baby die from whooping cough. We really want to hope that this time we will avoid such painful cases, but sufficient vaccination of children is necessary for that.
– Can we say that vaccinations are the only reliable protection against this infectious disease?
– Really so. The pertussis vaccine has been known and actively used in Lithuania for a long time. Unfortunately, even after vaccination or pertussis, immunity tends to decline and even vaccinated children become susceptible to pertussis over the years.
– How many times should children be vaccinated against whooping cough to acquire protective immunity?
– According to the preventive vaccination calendar, 2, 4 and 6 month old babies are vaccinated against whooping cough, diphtheria and tetanus. Later, 1.5-year-old, 6-7-year-old and 15-16-year-old children are vaccinated with booster doses. Each dose of this vaccine is important for the immunity of both the child himself and those around him.
For example, 15-16 year olds can easily become spreaders of whooping cough infection if they refuse this vaccine. Most of the time, teenagers are mildly ill, the so-called atypical form of whooping cough – they feel fine, only cough, so they can continue to go to school or participate in team gatherings. The problem is that the person who spreads whooping cough can infect young and unvaccinated children in their environment, who already develop severe whooping cough. It is estimated that 1 sick person can infect 11-17 susceptible people.
The scope of vaccination of Lithuanian children, especially seven-year-olds and teenagers, is not sufficient: in 2023 only 86% are vaccinated against whooping cough. seven-year-olds, 69 percent. 15 years age children, sixteen-year-olds – almost 88 percent. Bearing in mind that 90-95% are required to achieve universal immunity. vaccination volumes, such numbers are really not encouraging.
Other European countries are already returning to vaccinating children, especially teenagers, in schools because it is easier to reach this age group. In our country, we are still discussing this, as if it were a return to the Soviet era. However, the monitoring of vaccination volumes stuck in place calls for solutions.
The same applies to pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus revaccination, which should be done every 10 years for adults. It is for this reason that pregnant women in Lithuania are vaccinated with this vaccine to protect newborns and babies from whooping cough, which is extremely dangerous for them.
– According to the National Public Health Center (NVSC), last year in Lithuania, according to the preventive vaccination calendar, more children were vaccinated against just a few infectious diseases than in 2022. Meanwhile, vaccination rates against the remaining infectious diseases declined or remained unchanged. In your opinion, why is the volume of vaccination of children decreasing in the country?
– According to statistics, those reasons are various – vaccination is refused at the initiative of parents or guardians, absent without reason or other reasons are given. However, in the opinion of both me and the doctors in my department, there is currently an increasing number of people in society who categorically refuse to vaccinate children. They follow their own opinion and are not influenced by any scientific arguments.
Recently, I had to listen to a presentation where the lecturer explained very nicely that there are about 70 different reasons that determine the decision to get vaccinated: it can also be a person’s personal experience, whether it is convenient for him to enter a health care facility, whether he sees vaccinations as a threat or a benefit, maybe he had side reactions etc. It is a very complex issue that requires complex measures to be solved.
– What is needed for the public’s attitude to preventive vaccinations to change? Maybe there is simply a lack of information not only about vaccinations, but also about infectious diseases themselves – aren’t we afraid of what we don’t understand?
– Conspiracy theories about vaccines also occur in Scandinavia, where both the level of public awareness and the volume of vaccinations are really high. However, the better the availability of information, the less conspiracy theories and public negative attitudes towards vaccinations. On the other hand, it is not only the responsibility of doctors – people should also be interested in medical possibilities and innovations.
Last year, we had a number of severe cases of chicken pox, the children’s parents shrugged their shoulders – apparently, they had not heard that it is possible to vaccinate children against this infection, although we really communicate a lot in all media. However, you cannot knock on everyone’s door if they are not interested, do not follow the news.
Another problem is that family doctors are left to work alone, there are no pediatricians in the area, so consultation time is not enough to educate patients about vaccinations. The same is the case with revaccination of adults – it is not possible to offer or remind about such a possibility.
When the incidence of an infectious disease increases, people seem to stumble, begin to vaccinate more, but the activity subsides again until the next time.
We have to admit that the prevention of infectious diseases in Lithuania is failing, therefore, on the occasion of Immunization Week, I urge all Lithuanian parents to check their and their children’s vaccination passports today and visit the family doctor, without waiting for disease outbreaks.
2024-04-23 07:41:19