Official Minister Galya Kondeva: There are about 400 registered cases of whooping cough – Bulgaria

O around 400 are the registered cases of whooping cough, which is far from the expected peaksaid the Acting Minister of Health Galya Kondeva in the program “The Day Begins” on BNT.

The ministry expects the peak to be reached by the end of May.

The upcoming holidays and the decision of the Ministry of Education and Science to merge these holidays will give the health authorities a breath of fresh air and reduce the spread of the disease in schools and kindergartens, Minister Kondeva also said.

At the moment, there are still no registered cases in 11 districts, which does not give us the option to declare an epidemic, explained the acting health minister.

The pertussis vaccine will be administered one and a half months after birth

If this becomes necessary, it will most likely be for certain areas. At the moment, the incidence is highest in Sofia.

Galya Kondeva added that there are quarantined classes in 46 schools. The quarantine is within 14 days. When there is a proven case of whooping cough in a class, it is quarantined, the minister reminded. The same rules apply to kindergartens and crèche groups.

Minister Kondeva reminded that the state has provided free tests, which are done at the Regional Health Inspectorate in Sofia and at the National Center for Parasitic and Infectious Diseases.

We currently have data that parents have activated. Where there are any gaps in the immunization schedule for various reasons, they turn to their GPs and there is definitely an increased interest in following the immunization schedule as set out.

The decision to vaccinate babies at a month and a half is still being discussed, added Kondeva, but it is also a way to limit the disease in the most vulnerable group – children under 1 year. The trend of increasing pertussis patients in Europe has been observed for nearly a year.

Within a month, there will be at least a thousand whooping cough patients

During the epidemic of COVID-19, there were some gaps in the immunization calendar, and this may be one of the reasons, although vaccinated people also get sick from whooping cough, explained the acting minister.

The brief characteristics of the vaccine that is administered to them allows this to be done already at the 6th week – that is, sufficient safety data is available for this application and we are currently awaiting the final decision of the National Immunization Board, which for us will be leading in making a possible decision, added Galya Kondeva.

The evidence for last-trimester pregnancies is also controversial, and we await their decision on this issue. It is applied in many countries, the Croatians even made the immunization of pregnant women in the third trimester and adults in contact with newborns mandatory.

There is a sufficient amount of vaccines provided in the Ministry’s warehouse. Efforts are also being made to ensure quick market access. On Friday, 2,000 doses of pertussis vaccine will arrive and will be distributed to pharmacies. The pertussis test costs BGN 25-30, the vaccine also costs BGN 30, the minister said.

Two days ago, information came from the prosecutor’s office that the initiation of pre-trial proceedings in the “Danaya” case was refused due to a lack of data on a crime committed, said Galya Kondeva and added that at 2:00 p.m. there will be a meeting with Ani Stoyanova and the “Danaya” foundation “, in order to clarify their requests.

Associate Professor Angel Kunchev: Infection with whooping cough will affect thousands of children

The Ministry of Health is starting the announcement of competitions for hospital directors, according to the expiration of the contracts, at the same time the deadlines for the completion of the competitions have been extended so that the directors can fulfill their duties, salaries and everything related to their direct activity, explained Kondeva.

At 6 medical facilities, the contracts expired in March, they have already been released as tenders, 9 more remain, mainly in Sofia and Plovdiv.

“Pirogov” is among the hospitals, and the competition is expected to be launched by the end of April. May 20 is the deadline for submitting documents.

There is a problem at the National Transfusion Hematology Center, since February its working hours are until 2:00 p.m., the main reason being the departure of six nurses, Minister Galya Kondeva also said.

* In the video: New measure against whooping cough: Babies will be vaccinated earlier

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