The major outbreak of whooping cough infections in Croatia continues to spread. This year, more than 2,300 cases of the highly contagious respiratory disease have already been registered, the National Institute for Public Health (HZJZ) announced on Monday. According to media reports, this is the highest number of whooping cough cases in the past 40 years.
The health authorities, who warned weeks ago about the whooping cough epidemic, once again sounded the alarm. The highest number of infected people is currently in the capital Zagreb, followed by the coastal city of Split in Dalmatia. Children between the ages of ten and fourteen are particularly affected by this.
The outbreak started in the summer in Split
The outbreak started this summer in Split and then spread particularly strongly in Zagreb in the autumn. The coastal region around the Adriatic metropolis, which is popular with holidaymakers, is said to have, along with Dubrovnik, the worst childhood vaccination rate in the entire country. Children in Dalmatia are less well vaccinated against other infectious diseases than in the rest of Croatia. Vaccination of children against infectious diseases is legally required in Croatia.
Testing centers have been set up in Croatia and there is also a drive-in testing point in Zagreb. Some 5,340 people have been tested so far, with 35 percent of the tests coming back positive, the health authority said on Monday. The HZJZ publishes statistics on whooping cough infections every week. At the beginning of December, the number of cases was still 1,500 cases.
The numbers are also rising in Austria
There have also been more than five times as many cases in Austria this year as in the entire year of 2022. According to the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), there were 931 cases of whooping cough this year on October 19. , a total of 164 in 2022 and only 129 infections reported in 2021. The number of whooping cough cases was steadily increasing in Austria before the corona pandemic. According to AGES, adult and long-term complications increased. While 579 cases were reported nationally in 2015, there were already 2,233 in 2019. The low figures in recent years are due to the consequences of the pandemic and its measures.
The best prevention against whooping cough is vaccination. It is anchored in the free childhood vaccination program and must be renewed at school age. After the basic immunization, the vaccination must also be renewed regularly in adulthood. The whooping cough vaccination is recommended for everyone.
Source: Krone
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