First death from whooping cough in Korea… Infants under 2 months old

The first whooping cough death occurred in Korea.

As the first death from pertussis (under 2 months old) occurred on the 12th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (Director Ji Young-mi) announced that pregnant women, cohabiting family members, and caregivers should be vaccinated against pertussis in order to protect infants under 1 year old, who are a high-risk group with a high risk of developing serious illness when infected. stated that it was necessary.

The first case of whooping cough that occurred this time was an infant under 2 months old who was diagnosed with pertussis on the 31st of last month after visiting a medical institution with symptoms such as coughing and phlegm before receiving the first whooping cough vaccination.

Whooping cough, which is characterized by paroxysmal coughing, is spreading nationwide this year, especially among children and adolescents. As of the first week of this month, a total of 30,332 patients were reported.

By age, there were 13,866 people aged 13 to 19, or 45.7% of the total, those aged 7 to 12 accounted for 42.0%, or 2,725 people, and children and adolescents aged 7 to 19 accounted for 26,591 people, or 87.7% of the total. The number of patients aged 0 to 6 is 1,008, or 3.3% of all patients, and has been increasing since August. Infants under 1 year old were reported at 2 to 4 per week in early October, but the number rose to 12 at the end of last month.

Whooping cough is becoming prevalent around the world this year. In the UK, there were a total of 13,952 patients as of September, and in France, there were more than 130,000 patients this year. There were also 22,273 patients in the United States.

First of all, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency emphasized that it is essential to vaccinate pregnant women in the third trimester (27 to 36 weeks) of pregnancy so that infants can be born with immunity to whooping cough before the first vaccination (2 months) after birth.

Additionally, it is recommended that infants under 12 months of age be vaccinated at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. In addition, adults such as high-risk groups (immunocompromised patients, patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), parents and caregivers of infants and young children, medical workers, and postnatal care center workers were also urged to get vaccinated in consideration of the whooping cough epidemic this year.

Ji Young-mi, Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, “As the first death from whooping cough occurred in Korea, high-risk groups need special attention.” He added, “The government is closely monitoring the situation of pertussis among those aged 0 to 6, which has recently been on the rise, and is trying to prepare for an epidemic of respiratory infectious diseases in the winter.” “We plan to respond by operating a joint task force of respiratory infectious disease-related ministries,” he said.