An alarming outbreak of whooping cough was reported among children and adolescents. This year’s cumulative number of patients is 87 times the average of the past five years.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA), the number of whooping cough patients this year, as of the 6th, is 6,986. This is 87.3 times the five-year average of 80 patients from 2019 to 2023. The number of patients increased in mid-April and surged in June.
Whooping cough is a respiratory infection caused by the Bordetella bacterium. The incubation period is 4 to 21 days, and the symptoms include whooping cough, spasms, vomiting, and prolonged coughing.
91.9% of the country’s patients were children and adolescents aged 7 to 19. 21.5% experienced spasmodic coughing, 16.7% had a “whooping” sound, and 21.4% were hospitalized.
Whooping cough can be prevented with the DTaP vaccine. Recommended vaccinations are administered three times at 2, 4, and 6 months of age, followed by additional vaccinations at 15 to 18 months, 4 to 6 years, 11 to 12 years, and every 10 years.
The KCDA emphasized the importance of timely vaccinations. The recommended vaccination groups were pregnant women, those with weakened immunity, severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, childcare workers, and adults over 65.
As there is a low occurrence of high-risk groups under the age of 1 and a high vaccination rate, experts argue that excessive anxiety is not necessary.
The head of the KCDA, Ji Young Mi, emphasized, “We will actively respond to the epidemic by quickly promoting a full public analysis of positive whooping cough specimens from private medical institutions. Infection education at school and home is also important.”
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