The national head of the Emerging Diseases Program, Rubén Darío Montero, said on Tuesday that most children infected with coqueluche do not have the full vaccination schedule.
“We need to be aware, especially parents, as there are many who have fallen ill and don’t have their vaccination schedule complete,” she told RTP.
He stressed that the pentavalent vaccine against this disease fits into this scheme, for which he assured that immunizers should be applied from the moment a human being is born.
The authority regretted that parents are leaving the process of vaccinating their children incomplete.
“Many parents stop halfway, keep the first and second dose, do not make the corresponding booster,” he said.
Faced with this situation, the doctor called on the conscience of parents to go to health centers to review the vaccination regimen for minors.
“Many have forgotten their children’s vaccination schedule, so go and check at your health centers which dose corresponds to them or if the booster dose corresponds to them,” he suggested.
Furthermore, as a means of preventing this disease, Montero urged the population to maintain hygiene measures; such as hand washing and the use of denatured alcohol.
And parents to prevent their children from coming into contact with children with symptoms of coqueluche.
How do you identify the coqueluche?
The disease presents with symptoms similar to a common cold and can also be mistaken for pneumonia.
Then follows the runny nose, which is the presentation of a stuffy or stuffy nose.
The second symptom is the presence of a low-grade fever.
Hence, occasional mild cough and apnea, which is a pause in breathing that occurs mainly due to exhaustion in the child affected by the disease.
The latest epidemiological report recorded a total of 150 cases of coqueluche in the country, of which seven are still active and all in Santa Cruz.
During the time the disease is in the country, the department of Santa Cruz has recorded the most patients with 148 outbreaks, La Paz has had one case and Oruro has reported another.
The representative of Ministry of Health reported that of the total number of people infected, 100 were children under five and 48 over five.
“We have recovered more than 143 cases. We also have a deceased of Camiri in the department of Santa Cruz, a one-year-old girl,” the manager complained.
He stressed that “although this disease has a low mortality rate, it is quite contagious”, so he reiterated that parents visit health centers.
After nine years, the coqueluche sprouts again in the countryside. The last cases were reported in 2013, in Chuquisaca, resulting in a deceased child.
