Public concern is growing with the growing number of whooping cough cases, with the Acting Minister of Health, Galya Kondeva, saying that the number of registered cases is around 400. However, this is far from the expected peak, she stated in an interview with BNT. The Ministry of Health expects the peak to be reached by the end of May.
In his commentary on the program “Our Day” on BNR, Prof. Todor Kantarjiev pointed out that the situation is normal and related to the presence of “whooping cough among many children’s groups”. He explained that this situation is partly the result of the lack of the outstanding reimmunizations of childrenwhich are planned according to the state mandatory vaccination calendar in order to maintain optimal immune protection.
Professor Kantarjiev added that with the circulation of bacteria in society, it is possible vaccinated adults vaccinated with immunogenic vaccines many years ago become carriers or pass the disease mildly. He emphasized that this should not cause panic, but rather should be understood.
According to him, if the Chief Health Inspector, Associate Professor Angel Kunchev, reports to the Minister on the need to introduce an epidemic situation in certain areas or throughout the country, this will allow the Minister to take swift action, including changes in the immunization calendar and promotion of immunization against the specific disease.
“If there is an epidemic situation, the ministry can very quickly deliver necessary additional vaccines and diagnostic reagents. At the moment, the most important thing is the PCR diagnostic reagents,” he pointed out.
“It should be known that antibiotics are the treatment for whooping cough according to the European Center for Disease Control, which states that if athe antibiotic is given early, the cough will be very short. An antibiotic can also be given for prevention. If there is a sick child in one class, the other children can be given a macrolide antibiotic. In this way, the carriage in the nose and throat of these children will be eliminated and we will not have dozens more patients”, advises Prof. Kantarjiev.
In response to the question of whether it is necessary to lower the age for first vaccination against whooping cough, the professor noted the importance of the people who will take care of the newborn being vaccinated.
In the show, he also explained that 20 years ago, the whole-cell vaccine was used, which caused stronger immunity, but also side effects such as pain and temperature reactions. Currently, there is only the acellular vaccine on the market, which, although it does not cause these side effects, has a shorter duration of immunity. He concluded the conversation by saying that people vaccinated 10 years ago can become carriers of the virus, but they will not have severe manifestations of cough and infection.
