Aragon recorded 41 cases of whooping cough in January, more than half in the last week | News
Aragon registered in the first month of the year 41 cases of whooping cough, more than half, 22, in the last week of January, as recorded in the latest community epidemiological bulletin. A “significantly high” figure, as Elena Javier, president of the Aragonese Association of Primary Care Pediatricians, emphasized in the Buenos Días program on Aragón TV. The incidence of this disease has increased in Spain in recent months. In recent days it has been discovered outbreak in Guadalajara, which has already affected 137 peopleespecially children from seven to 13 years old.
“At this time, processes of respiratory infections are often observed. But in the second half of last year some 180 cases of whooping cough in Aragon and now, in a month, there were 44 of them, which means that the incidence is growing,” the pediatrician noted.
Protection against this infection is within the scope of the vaccination schedule, while punctures at two and four months, revaccination at 11 months and another at six years.. The Pediatrics Association insists on the importance of vaccination to avoid the most serious cases of this highly contagious disease. “In children under one year of age, it can be more serious and lead to breathing problems that may even require admission to the intensive care unit,” Javier warned.
Aragon believes that vaccination coverage is good, including among pregnant women included since 2016 in the protection schedule for the production of antibodies in the fetus. “This is why cases occur among teenagers and adults,” the expert explained. To maintain immunity to whooping cough in babiesask to expand vaccination at 14 years old: “This is a statement made by pediatricians.”
Whooping cough is an infection caused by bacteria that affects the respiratory tract. “The impact varies depending on age and protection status,” Javier explained. The most severe cases occur in the first months of life. From here a persistent cough may cause vomiting and the noise at the end of the episode. It mainly repeats at night and this phase can last up to a month. In adolescents and adults, whooping cough manifests itself as a chronic cough.
Eat treatment with antibiotics at diagnosis and confirms this disease. “Antibiotics are more effective in fighting infections than in preventing symptoms,” the pediatrician noted.