Health, News | Outbreak of whooping cough in Bergen: – The vaccine only lasts for two or three years

– What we see is that it is spread all over the city in schools and kindergartens, so it is everywhere now. If it is not that big, it is at least clearly an increase. In some places we have to say there is an outbreak, says infection control chief Marit Voltersvik in Bergen municipality to NRK.

They define an outbreak as more than two in the same cohort or group being infected. There have not been that many cases of whooping cough since the pandemic, but the disease is now on its way back, according to Voltersvik.

– It is dangerous for the very little ones, those who have not been vaccinated yet. Or those who are also partially vaccinated, and have not completed the vaccine. It is children under the age of two that we are most concerned about, she says.

Schools and kindergartens

So far this year, 60 cases of whooping cough have been registered in Bergen, according to the notification system for infectious diseases.

According to Voltersvik, it is difficult to say exactly how many are infected.

– Not everyone gets such strong symptoms that they contact a doctor and not all cases are reported. There will always be dark figures, she says.

There are both schools and kindergartens in Bergen municipality that have reported individual cases.

– There are probably more people who have it without the usual clear symptoms. What is important is that one follows the childhood vaccination programme, says Voltersvik.

Vaccine against whooping cough is offered at three, five and twelve months. In addition, there are booster doses in 2nd and 10th grade.

– The vaccine against whooping cough does not last very long, only for two or three years. But it is the very smallest, unvaccinated infants we are worried about now, says Voltersvik.

Refills of the pertussis vaccine for pregnant women in the second and third trimester have recently been introduced.

Violent cough

In the event of an outbreak, the GP can treat siblings and other close contacts of the infected with antibiotics.

If more people become infected in a school class, the municipality can also consider giving a booster dose of the vaccine earlier than in the child vaccination programme.

This has been done in Bergen before.

– Some people probably think that they have caught a common cold, with a slight fever and a runny nose. Eventually you get a stronger and tiring cough that comes in series. The small infants who have not yet been vaccinated can get such strong “kiks” that they are almost unable to breathe between coughs, and it is these we are worried about, says Voltersvik.

She encourages those who have the opportunity to fill up on the vaccine. The recommendation for adults is a booster dose every 10 years.

– But here it is the usual infection prevention advice we know from the pandemic that applies. This is transmitted via droplet infection. Stay at home when you are sick, cover your mouth when you cough and wash your hands, she says.