Public health is sending a signal of calm in the face of rising whooping cough cases and ruling out an outbreak in Albacete.
The General Directorate of Public Health of the Ministry of Health launched message of calm in the face of rising whooping cough cases. This was emphasized by the Director General of Public Health, Laura Ruiz, recalling that Despite the upward trend in the number of cases both nationally and internationally, herd immunity achieved through vaccination is very high. and in most cases mild symptoms are observed.
In this sense, he insisted that whooping cough is a disease that, cyclically, manifests itself with greater or lesser intensity, and for this reason he recalled that one of the most effective measures of protection is vaccination, and added that “in times of greatest disease, we must primarily care for the people most vulnerable to infection, which in this case are unvaccinated infants.” immunocompromised or pregnant.”
Cases in the province of Albacete
As it is a notifiable disease (EDO), the General Directorate of Public Health has confirmed that Since December 2023, 129 cases of whooping cough have been reported in the province of Albacete. Another 68 cases are considered probable.
The cases reported in Albacete mainly concern schoolchildren., although there is no major outbreak in any center in the province. Of course, the Department of Health insists that at this age, classmates with a positive case are considered contacts, so the surveillance protocol is to notify the existence of the case and encourage parents to check their children’s vaccination status and monitor for possible compatible symptoms.
Whooping cough is an infectious disease is caused by the highly contagious respiratory bacterium Bordetella pertussis. which poses a serious threat to the lives of infants if they are not vaccinated, which is why vaccination of pregnant women began several years ago.
Symptoms develop in two phases. The first, which usually lasts one or two weeks, is easily confused with a cold or other respiratory infections because it causes nasal congestion, low fever and an occasional mild cough. Starting in the second week, the most severe symptoms may appear, especially rapid, severe and uncontrollable coughing attacks. In vaccinated people, this second phase may not show these more typical symptoms.
Health authorities insist on importance of vaccination as a key strategy to protect against this type of disease, and to follow public health instructions for those affected and their contacts.
Experts have confirmed an increase in whooping cough cases since the Covid-19 pandemic, both in Spain and worldwide, which may be due to the lifting of preventive measures resulting from the pandemic, in addition to the cycles of increasing whooping cough incidence every four or four years. five years is what this disease usually represents.