Whooping cough cases rise to 200 in Portugal – DNOTICIAS.PT

Portugal recorded 200 cases of whooping cough in the first four months of 2024, while registering 22 cases in the entire previous year, the Directorate General of Health (DGS) announced today.

There is also an increase in whooping cough cases across Europe.

Ten times more cases of the disease were recorded in the countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EEA – plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) between the beginning of 2023 and April this year than in 2022 and 2021. The report released today the Health Agency indicates this.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) research shows there were almost 60,000 cases in the EU/EEA in that period, 25,130 in 2023 and 32,037 between January and March this year.

In a written response to Lusa, the Directorate General of Public Security stated that “the majority of confirmed cases (tosse convulsa) occurred in childhood (86%), mainly in children aged 10 to 13 years (21%) and under 1 year (20%).

According to the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the patients most at risk are children under six months of age, who have not been vaccinated or have only been partially immunized, and “the majority of hospitalizations and deaths associated with the disease occur “at this vulnerable age”. group.”

In addition, older adults and people with existing health problems are more likely to become seriously ill and be hospitalized.

“During 2023-2024, children (under 1 year old) were the group with the highest infection rate in 17 EU/EEA countries, while in a further six countries it was 10-19 year olds (…) The majority of deaths occurred among children.”

The European Agency noted in a statement that whooping cough remains a public health problem as the disease is “endemic in the EU/EEA and worldwide, causing major epidemics every three to five years, even in countries with high infection rates.” “. Vaccination coverage,” as in Portugal.

The Directorate General of Public Security said that in 2023, “vaccination coverage for the fifth dose of the combination vaccine against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough reached 95%, and it is estimated that 85% of eligible pregnant women will be vaccinated. ”

In the statement from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the European Commissioner for Health was quoted as saying: “The increase in whooping cough cases across Europe shows the need for vigilance. It is a serious disease, especially in children.”

Stella Kyriakides noted that there are “safe and effective vaccines” to prevent the disease and that “vaccination is the most important tool to save lives and prevent the disease from spreading.”

According to the report, the increase in whooping cough cases, which occurred after several years of limited spread of the disease in the EU/EEA, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, may be related to a range of factors, such as the expected epidemic peak, unvaccinated individuals or those without up-to-date vaccinations and reduced immunity and natural boost in the general population during an epidemic.

The European Health Agency recommends that countries strengthen vaccination programs and maintain high vaccination rates.

Furthermore, he adds, immunization against whooping cough during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy is highly effective in preventing illness and death in newborns.

Most EU/EEA countries now recommend this immunization for mothers as a supplement to the routine childhood vaccination programme.

The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention also calls for increasing “health professionals’ awareness of the epidemiological situation of whooping cough in their geographical area” and knowledge of the disease, and continuing “whooping cough surveillance”, as well as ensuring of the capacity for early detection and diagnosis. Response and control of disease outbreaks.

“Information about whooping cough should emphasize that it is a highly contagious disease and that it is essential to protect children,” the study said.

The Directorate General of Health says it “continues to permanently monitor the national and international epidemiological situation and adapts its measures to the risks to which the Portuguese population is exposed,” adding that in early May it “sent an alert to the ULS sent.” (Unidades Locais de Saúde) And private and social sector hospitals and health authorities.

Among the public health measures that will be implemented, the General Directorate of Public Security has called for “testing for possible or probable cases of whooping cough, based on nasopharyngeal secretions,” warning of “the need to vaccinate all pregnant women exposed to meet the eligibility criteria. .”

Whooping cough is transmitted through saliva droplets released when sneezing or coughing and through contact with objects containing the patient’s secretions. The period of infection is most severe in the first week in which symptoms appear.