Whooping cough cases in Hanoi increase again

The patients are distributed in 13 districts: Hoai Duc, Hoang Mai, Ba Vi, Chuong My, Gia Lam, Nam Tu Liem, Phu Xuyen, Phuc Tho, Quoc Oai, Thach That, Thanh Oai, Thanh Xuan, Ung Hoa.

Thus, from the beginning of 2024 to now, Hanoi has recorded 98 cases of whooping cough; while in the same period in 2023, the city had no cases of whooping cough.

The current cases of whooping cough in the city are only sporadic cases, no outbreak has yet occurred.

The Hanoi Center for Disease Control also predicts that in the coming time, Hanoi will continue to have sporadic cases, mainly in young children who are not old enough to be vaccinated, or have not been fully vaccinated.

According to Mr. Khong Minh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Center for Disease Control, this year, the number of whooping cough cases has shown signs of increasing compared to previous years, due to the impact of the recent COVID-19 epidemic, the number of children vaccinated against the disease did not reach 100%, the vaccination rate was lower; there were also periods when Vietnam lacked vaccines in the Expanded Immunization Program, so some groups of children were stopped from being vaccinated or were not vaccinated enough, making immunity not guaranteed.

Currently, new cases of whooping cough are recorded sporadically in some localities, not yet concentrated. However, if children are not fully vaccinated and do not have full immunity, they will accumulate and easily create immune gaps, which can then become epidemics.

To prevent whooping cough, the Ministry of Health recommends that parents should vaccinate their children with the full whooping cough vaccine on schedule.

Whooping cough vaccination schedule for children at the following times:

- Injection 1: Injected when the child is 2 months old.

- 2nd dose: Injected one month after 1st dose.

- Injection 3: Injection one month after injection 2.

- Injection 4: Booster injection when the child is 18 months old.

At the same time, to prevent the spread of disease, people need to regularly wash their hands with soap, cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing; and keep children's bodies, noses, and throats clean every day.

People need to keep their living quarters and classrooms airy, clean and well-lit.

In particular, when parents see signs of whooping cough or suspect that their child has the disease, they need to keep the child home from school, isolate them, and take them to a medical facility for timely examination and treatment to avoid serious complications.