And an immunized person caught whooping cough – his illness is mild. The vaccine protects for 10 years (Overview)

• In a month, there will be over 1,000 patients, claims Prof. Iva Hristova
• Doctors: Pregnant women should get an injection – they will protect their baby

Those infected with whooping cough are increasing sharply, for the last week their number has exceeded 280. Children between the ages of 10 and 19 are mainly affected. Despite the categorical opinion of infectious disease specialists that an epidemic of whooping cough can only be overcome with mass vaccination, the disease also affects those who are immunized. The reason is that the vaccine protects until the age of 10. When children have all the injections and a booster at the age of 12, the infection is mild.

Vaccinated with all doses, he was also the first infected person in Veliko Tarnovo. The 17-year-old student’s diagnosis was confirmed by a PCR test at the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases on April 17. “The youth are regularly vaccinated, they have the necessary reimmunizations”, commented the director of the RZI, Dr. Evgenia Nedeva. The boy was briefly in the hospital, but is now receiving treatment at home. The teenager’s classmates, who were in contact with the infected person until April 16, are under medical supervision and

quarantine within the class for 14 days

“This means they can go to school, but they shouldn’t mix with other classes. So far, there are no new cases,” explained Dr. Irina Mlizeva, director of the Directorate “Supervision of Infectious Diseases”. According to her, anti-epidemic measures have been ordered – cleaning, disinfection of surfaces in the premises and ventilation.

Restrictive measures have also been taken in Plovdiv. On Monday, it became clear that two more children are sick with whooping cough. The newly infected are 12 years old and are being treated at home, explained Dr. Milena Panayotova from the RZI. One is a boy and studies at “Chernorizets Hrabar” Secondary School, and the other is a girl from Asenovgrad, studying at “Dimitar Matevski” Secondary School. Their classmates enter the buildings separately from the other children, conduct their classes in only one office and eat in a designated place.

More than half of the districts have reported infections

in the country, the most are in Sofia, announced the director of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Prof. Iva Hristova. There are confirmed cases in Stara Zagora, Kyustendil, Varna and Burgas.

The incidence is highest among infants, followed by children between 10 and 14, according to data from the Ministry of Health. 89.5% of patients are under the age of 19. Among them, the highest proportion of patients between 10 and 14 years old is 39.2%. After them are the 5-9 year olds – 18.6%. 15 percent are infected from 1 to 4 years old. Babies up to 1 year old and young people aged 15-19 years are 13.7% each. Individual cases of whooping cough have also been registered in people over 25 years old.

Vaccination remains the only option to overcome an epidemic, experts say. On Friday last week, two newborn babies died in Kazanlak, and the chief state health inspector Assoc. Angel Kunchev warned that there could be a national epidemic of whooping cough. For Iva Hristova, within a month there will be at least a thousand patients.

According to the epidemiologist Prof. Todor Kantarjiev, in the last 20 years the vaccine against whooping cough has changed because the vaccination was experienced badly. New injections do not cause complications.

More and more doctors are advising pregnant women to get vaccinated against whooping cough – to protect their babies by passing on antibodies.