GGD Flevoland has seen a significant increase in the number of whooping cough cases in recent weeks. In January and February, 40 cases of illness were reported to the health department. In the entire previous year there were 27 reports. According to the GGD, several children have now been admitted to hospital with whooping cough.
The health service suspects that this is only the tip of the iceberg: “This number (40, ed.) is lower than the actual number of cases, because not all people with cough complaints go to the doctor or are tested for whooping cough.”
Why sudden increase?
According to nurse Merel van Blokland of the GGD, the increase is mainly caused by the fact that the corona epidemic is over. “At that time, people kept more distance and were more concerned with hygiene, which meant that various infectious diseases were less prevalent. And now people are visiting each other again. So you have a greater chance of infecting each other. Plus, the vaccination rate is declining. .”
Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease caused by bacteria. It produces a toxin, causing coughing fits. This cough can last for several weeks to months.
Lowest vaccination rate in the country
The reports come from all over the province, says Van Blokland. “All reports are fairly spread throughout Flevoland. But in Urk we see that it is mainly small children who contract whooping cough. And in other municipalities, because the vaccination rate is somewhat higher there, it is mainly older children and adults.”
The percentage of infants vaccinated against (childhood) diseases in Urk is by far the lowest in the whole of the Netherlands. Only 56.4 percent of Urk children have had all their vaccinations. 32 percent of all Urk babies have not received any vaccination. In addition, only 29 percent of pregnant Urk women have had a whooping cough vaccination.
In the other Flevoland municipalities, the percentage of vaccinated infants is much higher. The vaccination rate is well above 80 percent. In Dronten, at 90.2 percent, it is the highest in Flevoland. The GGD does see that the vaccination rate is also steadily declining every year in the other five municipalities.
Vaccination of pregnant women is very important
As always, the GGD continues to point out the importance of vaccination. Not only does the organization consider vaccinations from the national vaccination program for children to be important, the GGD also points out the vaccinations that a pregnant woman can receive: “Because it is known that the protection of the whooping cough vaccination decreases with age, pregnant women are advised to be vaccinated against whooping cough around 22 weeks of pregnancy. This means that newborns receive protective antibodies from their mother, which protects them against whooping cough during the first 3 months.”
2024-02-25 02:56:10
#GGD #sees #significant #increase #whooping #cough #babies #hospital
