WHOOPING COUGH IS NOT FORGOTTEN DISEASE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46793/PP240125014MKeywords:
whooping cough, children, immunization, preventionAbstract
Introduction. Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is an acute infectious respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It is the only vaccine-preventable disease that records an increase in the number of sufferers in the world, despite the high coverage of children by vaccination. Timely vaccination with a vaccine covering 95% of the population is the most effective measure of protection against pertussis. According to data from the Institute for Public Health of Serbia "Dr. Milan Jovanović Batut", 909 cases of whooping cough were recorded in Serbia in 2023.
Case series outline. This paper describes a series of seven confirmed cases of pertussis in primary pediatric practice, during October and November 2023. Two of the seven patients are infants, one of whom was unvaccinated and the other who received only one dose of the petovalent vaccine. Four patients are school-aged children, regularly vaccinated for their age, but more than ten years have passed since their last dose of vaccine. All of them had symptoms of cough with paroxysms and posttussive vomiting, and their complete blood count showed leukocytosis with predominant lymphocytosis. Five patients were diagnosed with PCR diagnostics, and two patients with serological analyses. Two unvaccinated and incompletely vaccinated infants required hospitalization. In all patients there was a gradual and complete regression of symptoms during the six weeks.
Conclusion. Whooping cough is not a forgotten disease. Prevention, early detection and recognition of the infected as a source of infection are of essential importance in suppressing the pertussis epidemic.
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