May 8, 2024
Today at
6:20 PM
Whooping cough is on the rise in both the European Union and Flanders. There have been noticeably more infections since January 2023, the result of the low vaccination rate and lower immunity.
The infectious disease whooping cough or pertussis is on the rise. This is reported by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Nearly 60,000 cases have been reported in Europe between January 2023 and April 2024. That is ten times more than the two previous years. There were 19 deaths, eleven of whom were infants. In the first three months of 2024, there were already as many reports as in an average year between 2012 and 2019.
Flanders then. In the first three months of 2024, there were already 672 cases of whooping cough, mainly in Antwerp and Flemish Brabant. In February, that number was down to 159. Among those 672 cases, 50 were infants or newborns, 23 of whom required hospitalization. Most infections occur in children between 4 and 14 years old. In recent years there have been on average fewer than 1,000 cases of whooping cough per year.
Infants and newborns are very sick from it. There is an increased risk of hospitalization and death.
Whooping cough is an acute bacterial infectious disease of the respiratory tract. It is very contagious and is spread through the air by coughing, sneezing or talking. It causes troublesome coughing fits that can last for weeks. It can also lead to an ear infection. Infants and newborns are very sick from it. Their symptoms range from poor eating and difficulty breathing to turning blue. There is an increased risk of hospitalization and death.
The rising number of infections is due to the low vaccination rate and lower immunity that may be caused by Covid-19. According to Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health, national health authorities must focus more on vaccination. ‘Vaccination is our most important tool to save lives and prevent the disease from spreading further.’ Kyriakides emphasizes that the vaccines are free, safe and effective and that adults are best vaccinated every ten years.
At the end of April it became known that infectious diseases, such as whooping cough, were also on the rise in Flanders. In 2023, there were 3,000 more reports of notifiable diseases than in 2022. The most commonly reported diseases are gonorrhea, syphilis and whooping cough.
