Two one-month-old babies from Kyustendil became the first victims of whooping cough in our country. After the tragic news, the chief state health inspector Assoc. Angel Kunchev warned of a national epidemic of whooping cough. 205 have been infected since the beginning of the year, and 59 new cases were registered in the last week alone. Experts have warned that we do not have permanent lifelong immunity to whooping cough. Therefore it is recommended revaccinate every 10 years.
The Ministry of Health is starting to check vaccinations against acute respiratory infection, announced Minister Galya Kondeva. In the capital, there are already dozens of quarantined classes in several metropolitan schools because of whooping cough, said the Acting Minister of Education Prof. Galin Tsokov. On this occasion, “Maritsa” asked Prof. Todor Kantarjiev for a comment.
- Mother vaccinated against whooping cough gives triple protection to the baby
- Whooping cough is treated with a macrolide antibiotic, be careful not to get poked dear
- Whooping cough is a summer infection and if measures are not taken, cases will jump
– Prof. Kantardjiev, we had a conversation with you about whooping cough a few months ago regarding an outbreak in Romania. Alas, it also arrived here with deaths.
– Yes, we were talking about whooping cough is very dangerous for babies who haven’t had their first vaccination. This implies – firstly, that the mothers must have a good vaccination status, because they protect the child in the first months. Antibodies against pertussis in the baby are three times more than those in the pregnant mother. As long as the parent has them, i.e., has been vaccinated regularly. Therefore, let every woman who plans to give birth for the first time get vaccinated against whooping cough. Around the world it is even recommended to pregnant women, but I will not say it, because then every failure is unjustifiably attributed to the vaccine.
– Alas, the anti-vaxxer conspiracies are endless?
– Yes, let her be vaccinated before pregnancy. Second, while the child is still in the maternity hospital, the father, grandparents are revaccinated against whooping cough. If this is not done, I do not know the case with the dead babies in our country, but it is probably so, let the child be looked after by the mother alone until the second month. That is, until the vaccination. Don’t let any other relatives hang around.
– I admit, I didn’t know it and I didn’t get revaccinated when my children were born, but we all followed the regulations at the time.
– Years ago, the people were still vaccinated according to the rules, it is not like now. Even if 5-6 percent were missed, this is nothing in the general background. The problem is the revaccination. I will tell you that 60 years ago, when polio vaccination started, the first dose protected about 40 percent of babies. Therefore, the second is applied, etc. I cannot understand this total irresponsibility that reigns now with the health of the people.
– There was clearly concern on the part of our authorities about the situation in Romania, as I remember that in the school they urgently ordered everyone who had not passed the revaccination at the age of 12 to do so?
– That’s what a reasonable person does.
– Can we revaccinate after that, even if we are not expecting a baby in the family?
– Not necessarily.
– How to recognize whooping cough from other coughs?
– First, the child coughs for more than 10 days. The cough has an episodic character – from 10 to 30 times a day. At least one of the following three symptoms is observed: sound like a donkey when breathing, hence the term “whooping cough”. Second, if during an attack the child vomits. And thirdly, if he has a nosebleed during an attack. These are the clinical criteria.
– Is it necessary to have a temperature?
– Whooping cough has three stages. The first includes a mild fever, cough, sore throat and runny nose. In the second, paroxysmal cough is formed. In the third, the bacillus is no longer there, but the brain is damaged and the child coughs for three months. It is treated with a macrolide antibiotic, I warn you, do not fall for the expensive ones that some will try to prescribe to you to take your money. They don’t work. I purposely do not name a trade name of macrolidene that we will be blamed. Of course, the antibiotic must be prescribed by the GP, so do not delay the visit if in doubt.
– Up to what age of the baby whooping cough can even threaten his life?
– For the unvaccinated, it is dangerous until the second or third year. Alas, in babies before vaccination age it is the most worrisome. Hemorrhage occurs in the pituitary gland. I am not aware if this is the case with the two babies who died in our country. I will repeat myself once again, but there are no pathologists in Bulgaria anymore to understand the reason for a negative outcome. Alas, sometimes mistakes happen, but there is no one to detect them anymore. That’s where quality medicine starts, the topic is different.
– How is whooping cough transmitted?
– By airborne route. Therefore, in the maternity wards, the staff must be completely healthy and vaccinated. Whooping cough has an extremely high contagion index – one infects 17. Let me remind you, with the coronavirus, one infects two. With the flu – 2.5 people. In case of measles – as many as 23.
– I know that the presence of the virus can best be checked with an PCR test?
– Yes, I personally introduced it 15 years ago, because the methods at that time were low-efficiency. Antibodies, for example, appear very late – 3 weeks after the start of the infection. Any doctor who clinically proves whooping cough according to the mentioned criteria is obliged to immediately report to the Regional Health Inspectorate. The same applies to absolutely any laboratory – private or not. If they don’t do it, RZI should go and fine.
– If I am vaccinated, can I carry whooping cough without even realizing it?
– No, at least you’ll cough a little.
– Were there any deaths years ago, when there were no anti-vaxxers and the like, and an iron vaccination cycle was followed?
– In practice, we were a country freed from whooping cough. There have been deaths of children, but in over 40 years of practice – no more than the fingers of one hand.
– How many families are currently, roughly speaking, broke by vaccination and revaccination of their children?
– Tens of thousands are according to the Ministry of Health. But we already have a helicopter. Whooping cough is a summer infection and if measures are not taken, cases will jump.
– Otherwise, it’s tick season, there are already quite a few cases of Lyme disease and Marseilles fever. What are the signs there?
– First, it was sprayed in dry weather, not in rain, and the authorities were late. Second, be careful with picnics on the grass when the weather is good. Now, if you notice a tick and remove it by the 12th hour, there is no risk of developing a disease. If it still comes to that, and it usually happens to 20 percent of those bitten, one doxycycline for 2-3 BGN does the trick. Doctors will prescribe it for you and tell you the doses for a child or an adult.
– What are the signs of Lyme disease?
– Like syphilis. The first stage is the appearance of a reddened circle at the site of the tick. At first it is the size of five cents, then it grows, it can reach up to 15 centimeters. The rash has a light edge and a redder center. You’re getting a fever, you’re not feeling well. In southern Bulgaria, it may also be Marseille fever, where the black spot is characteristic. I hear, now it’s fashionable to be treated in Romania. Half go to a laboratory assistant in Timisoara, and from North-Eastern Bulgaria – in Bucharest.
– Because of Lyme disease!
– Yes. Absolutely unnecessary.
Professor Todor Kantarjiev is well known to the readers of “Maritsa”, where he was always happy to give advice and recommendations. Long-term director of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases. Member of NIGHT on the coronavirus pandemic. One of the most experienced specialists in this type of disease in our country.
