Fifteen cases of whooping cough have been confirmed and registered in the Blagoevgrad region, Dr. Veselka Moncheva, director of the “Supervision of Communicable Diseases” Directorate at the Regional Health Inspectorate (RHI), told BTA. The cases are in babies up to one year old and children up to 16 years old.
Until yesterday, the spread of the disease went smoothly, one or two cases each since the beginning of the year, but yesterday four new cases of whooping cough were registered, Dr. Moncheva pointed out. The disease in the 15 children in whom it was confirmed was mild, only four of them were hospitalized. At the moment, there is one baby who is hospitalized in the capital, all the other infected have been cured or are being treated at home, explained the director of the Directorate “Supervision of Communicable Diseases” in RZI – Blagoevgrad.
The cases are two from Razlog, one each in Bansko and Sandanski, the remaining 11 are in Blagoevgrad. There are a total of five quarantined classes in the district – four in Blagoevgrad and one in Razlog. This is a lighter quarantine, not like the quarantine at home with COVID-19, explained Dr. Moncheva. She explained that the contact children continue to attend school, but do not mix with the classes of other classes – the breaks are at different times, they do not attend the school chair together with the other students, a separate entrance to the school is used.
The disease begins with a red throat, stuffy nose, a dry, short cough appears, which deepens and becomes more frequent. The treatment is with antibiotics, but when symptoms appear, it is better for patients to consult a doctor sooner, said Dr. Moncheva.
It is characteristic of whooping cough that it spreads mainly during the spring-summer season, so it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of patients, commented Dr. Veselka Moncheva. In terms of prevention, especially for newborn children, it is good to observe home quarantine. “It was not for nothing that grandmothers once said that for 40 days the baby should stay at home and have less contact with adults. And now it’s good to follow these recommendations,” pointed out Dr. Moncheva. Other measures are related to hygiene and wearing a protective mask, especially in places where there are more people.
The other main thing is that, in the case of missed immunization, parents should become more active in immunizing their children at the private doctors, said Dr. Moncheva. The whooping cough vaccine is polyvalent and is for five other diseases. It is given in the second, third and fourth months, three consecutive doses, after which there are revaccinations at 16 months of age, at six years of age and at 12 years of age.
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