Cordoba has recorded eight cases of whooping cough this year, the Andalusian province with the lowest incidence rate.

The Andalusian government’s Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs counts 1,853 cases of whooping cough in the first five months of 2024, an increase of 390% compared to last year, when 378 cases were reported. Cordoba is the province with the lowest incidence rate, with only eight cases reported during this period.

Sources from Catalina Garcia’s office send a signal of “calm” because “the percentage of income is minimal” and explain that whooping cough acts “in waves, and now, at the national level, we are in one of them.” Most hospitalizations occur in infants under four months of age. There were no deaths reported in either 2023 or 2024.

This is indicated by sources from the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs Europa Press, who note that the largest number of cases occur in children aged three to eleven months compared to infants under three months, a situation that has been observed since 2015. when vaccination of pregnant women against whooping cough began. This maternal vaccination “continues to be effective in protecting children in the first months of life from this disease.”

By province

By province, Granada has the highest number of cases – 875, followed by Seville – 357. Thus, Malaga has 140 cases; in Jaén – 131; 122 in Cadiz; in Almeria – 113; in Huelva – 117, and in last place Cordoba – only eight cases. Whooping cough is a bacterial infection caused by Bordetella pertussis. The clinic varies depending on age. Infants younger than six months may not develop the typical condition, and spasms may be accompanied by periods of apnea. In adolescents and adults, the disease may be mild and not be identified as whooping cough.

The current vaccination schedule for children in Andalusia includes pertussis vaccine with an initial series of two doses at two and four months of age and two booster doses at eleven months and six years of age. Additionally, since 2015, pregnant women have been vaccinated between 28 and 36 weeks as an “effective” measure to prevent whooping cough in infants under three months of age. Currently, vaccination coverage among minors in Andalusia is almost 95%, and vaccination coverage among pregnant women exceeds 90%.