2024-05-09 08:42:06
Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection that poses a serious risk to the lives of infants. The best way to prevent it is vaccination. Four people, including two premature babies, have died so far in 2024.
Respiratory infection from contagious whooping cough can also be serious in immunocompromised people and pregnant women, health authorities say.
Whooping cough is caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. In adolescents and adults it is usually milder, but children under four months are the most vulnerable group.
The facts of the contagious whooping cough infection
Four people, including two premature babies, as well as two elderly people with previous pathologies, have died so far this year from whooping cough, which since the epidemic wave began in Spain in mid-October has left 11,175 cases, 9,785 in the first four months of 2024.
These are the data provided by the latest “Update on the pertussis situation in Spain. Provisional data January-March 2024” prepared by the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (Renave), known after the European Center for Prevention and Control of Diseases (ECDC) has warned of the increase in this disease in the EU since last year.
The new data from Renave place the incidence in Spain at 81.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in this period, compared to the 5.78 recorded last year.
In general, reported cases are mild, and only 3.8% have ended up in hospital. The majority occur in pediatric age, with 68.7% in children under 15 years of age; The group with the highest incidence is those aged 10 to 14 years, with 38.7% of the total, followed by those aged 5 to 9 years (18.2%).
In this outbreak, four people have died, all in risk conditions: a 3-month-old premature infant whose mother had not received the vaccine during pregnancy, and another baby, also 2-month-old premature, in whose case her mother died. had vaccinated 5 days before delivery.
Meanwhile, the other two cases are that of a 73-year-old woman in palliative care and that of an 83-year-old man with respiratory co-infection with other microorganisms.
At the end of 2023, the death of another baby occurred whose mother had not been vaccinated, a figure that, as highlighted to EFE by the Center for Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies (CCAES), is within what was expected.
The number of annual deaths since 2010 (excluding 2020, 2021 and 2022, in which Covid-19 restrictions stopped the circulation of the Bordetella pertussis bacteria that causes whooping cough in its tracks) has varied between 1 and 8 deaths.
Symptoms of whooping cough
Its symptoms develop in two phases. The first usually lasts one or two weeks and can be easily confused with a cold or other respiratory infections, as it causes nasal congestion, low fever and occasional mild cough.
But from the second week, more serious symptoms appear such as rapid, violent and uncontrollable coughing attacks.
In general, its most characteristic symptoms are nasal congestion, watery eyes, dry or convulsive cough, fever and vomiting.
Vaccination
Health authorities insist on the importance of vaccination as the main strategy to protect against and prevent this disease.
The vast majority of unvaccinated people who are in contact with a whooping cough patient are candidates for developing the disease.
Vaccination is the most effective measure to control the transmission of whooping cough.
According to recent research by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), carried out by the National Center for Epidemiology (CNE), the prenatal whooping cough vaccine has reduced hospitalizations of minor babies by up to 36% since its introduction in 2015. of 3 months, as well as the duration of admission, which decreased by two days to remain at 4.5.
Complications of whooping cough
Among the complications that whooping cough can present are pneumonia, otitis media, respiratory failure, encephalopathy and seizures. The most serious complication that can even cause death is apnea (stopping breathing) and progressive respiratory failure.
The Spanish Association of Pediatrics offers questions and answers about whooping cough on its website.
How do you get the disease?
Whooping cough is very contagious. It spreads easily through the air when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes. 83 percent of infection cases come from an adult who lives in the same house with a baby.
Who can suffer from it?
Whooping cough can be contracted at any age. Younger children who have not completed their vaccination schedule or those who have not received the full dose of the vaccine are at greater risk of suffering from the most serious form of this disease.
Can it happen more than once?
Getting over whooping cough does not guarantee permanent immunity, so even people who have had it should get vaccinated.
How is it different from a cold?
The initial symptoms of whooping cough are similar to those of a common cold. After one or two weeks, characteristic attacks may appear.
Unlike the common cold, coughing attacks persist for several weeks at a time.
Diagnosis and treatment of contagious whooping cough
Early diagnosis of whooping cough is essential to initiate treatment, which is advisable to begin during the catarrhal phase of the disease, as this is more likely to reduce the intensity and duration of the symptoms.
Whooping cough is treated with antibiotics prescribed by the pediatrician and will be more effective if administered with mild symptoms.
While treatment lasts, it is advisable:
- Promote the child’s rest.
- Keep the home free of irritating substances to prevent coughing attacks from occurring more easily.
- Offer the child small and frequent portions of food to avoid vomiting, as well as encourage him to drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.
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