Whooping cough patients exceeded the total number of patients last year...Infants under the age of one are fatal
Apr 07, 2025
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According to the Japan Institute of Health and Safety, the cumulative number of whooping cough patients in Japan this year was 4,100, surpassing 4054 last year.
By region, Osaka had the largest number of people with 336, followed by Tokyo with 299 and Niigata with 258.
pertussis is a respiratory infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Bordetella pertussis, which is common in young children but can infect all age groups.
Whooping cough is characterized by strong cough symptoms, which can become too severe to breathe or cause vomiting, infants younger than 1 year of age can be very dangerous, and in severe cases can lead to complications or death.
The main symptoms initially begin with cold-like symptoms, with a runny nose, mild fever, and mild cough, followed by seizure and severe coughs over several weeks, and a 'ub' sound at the end of the cough. Coughs gradually decrease during the recovery period, but it can take weeks to recover. In particular, infants and toddlers need special attention because they can lead to complications such as shortness of breath and apnea.
Most of whooping coughs are prevented by vaccines, but infants two months before birth who cannot be inoculated can lead to severe infection, requiring caution.
DTaP or Tdap vaccines are effective for vaccination. The preventive effect after these vaccinations reaches 90%. Of course, you can be infected even if you are vaccinated, but if you are vaccinated, the symptoms appear much milder, so vaccination is essential.
Children are inoculated according to a certain period of age, and adults are also recommended to be inoculated every 10 years.
Specialists should see a doctor if the cough lasts for more than two weeks or there is a special cough because the initial symptoms are similar to a cold and the diagnosis may be delayed," he said.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
