The Ministry of Health explained how to protect yourself from whooping cough

In Ukraine, the incidence of whooping cough is increasing

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The number of patients with whooping cough is growing rapidly in Ukraine. Only in January and February 2024, doctors recorded more than half a thousand new cases of the disease.

This is 20 times more than in the same period of 2023.

As noted in the Ministry of Health, the absolute majority of patients are children who have not had the appropriate vaccination.

“Whooping cough is highly contagious, it is easily spread from person to person by airborne droplets when coughing or sneezing,” – noted the Ministry of Health.

According to doctors, this disease is the most dangerous for babies, because it has a difficult course and a high risk of complications. One of them is apnea – a temporary stoppage of breathing, which can be evidenced by a blue face. Mortality is also high among the smallest patients.

Although older children and adults usually recover from whooping cough, the illness can be long-lasting and debilitating.

The ministry says that whooping cough starts as usual SARS (increased body temperature, runny nose, etc.). Among symptoms – paroxysmal spasmodic cough with whistling up to reddening of the face and lacrimation, which begins 5-8 days after infection. At the same time, coughing attacks occur more often at night than during the day.

Recovery begins in 4-8 weeks, coughing attacks gradually become less intense and occur less often. Sometimes this process can take from two to six months.

The Ministry of Health explains: the only way to protect yourself and your children is to get vaccinated.

“All children should receive four vaccinations – at 2, 4, 6 and 18 months of age. If for some reason a vaccination is missed, catch up as soon as possible.” – emphasized in the department.

Women between 16 and 32 weeks of pregnancy can also be vaccinated against whooping cough, regardless of whether they received vaccination in childhood. This is important in order to protect the newborn baby from illness in the first months of his life.

We will remind, in the Rivne region in January and February recorded 111 cases of whooping cough. This is 37 times more than in the same period last year.