The first death of whooping cough occurred 103 times... "Vaccination is advised."

Whooping cough is the first death in Korea...Infants under 2 months of age
"Under the age of 1 and high-risk groups should be careful of worsening pneumonia"
88% of patients aged 7 to 19…Infant infections rise from August
Vaccinations not allowed before 2 months of age...recommendation of inoculation during pregnancy

[Anchor]
As the cold wind blows, concerns over respiratory infections are growing again.

In particular, whooping cough with paroxysmal cough is popular among children and adolescents.

As the death was reported for the first time, the quarantine authorities actively urged vaccination.

This is reporter Lee Moon-seok.

[Reporter]
The first death in Korea from whooping cough has been reported.

He was an infant under 2 months old who had pertussis at the end of last month, and his symptoms worsened during hospitalization.

The infant who died was before the first vaccination for whooping cough.

pertussis spreads to droplets from patients or carriers, and has the characteristic of causing paroxysmal cough during infection.

Most of the symptoms are alleviated by antibiotic treatment, but high-risk groups such as infants under the age of 1 and immunocompromised children can worsen into pneumonia, so caution is needed.

In particular, the number of whooping cough patients has exploded this year.

The number of patients from 21 in 2021 has increased significantly since last year, and this year, the number has already exceeded 103 times last year.

It is presumed that the cause is that natural decline during COVID-19 has decreased and herd immunity has weakened.

Children and adolescents aged 7 to 19 accounted for 88% of the total, and there is a great concern that the number of infants under the age of 6 has increased since August.

In infants under the age of 1 who died this time, about three new cases were reported per week, but the number surged to 12 last week.

The quarantine authorities recommended that mothers get vaccinated during pregnancy, given that vaccinations for whooping cough are not allowed before two months of age.

[Yang Jin-sun / Director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: If you get an exhaust vaccination between 27 and 36 weeks, your mother's body will develop antibodies, and the antibodies will go through the placenta to the fetus so that the child can have whooping cough immunity for two months after birth....]

Parents of infants, caregivers, and children and adolescents also asked to get vaccinated at the right time.

He also emphasized that it is just as important as vaccines to wear a mask if you have symptoms and follow basic rules for preventing respiratory infections such as hand washing and ventilation.

I'm YTN's Lee Munseok.

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