There is an outbreak of the respiratory infection whooping cough in Bergen, the municipality informs.
Monday 6 May at 17:02
– 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.
She says that 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.
Whooping cough is an infectious disease that affects the respiratory tract and is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. This disease can be serious, especially for infants.
Whooping cough is spread through droplet transmission, which means that the bacteria can be spread through the air when an infected person coughs. One is most contagious at the beginning of the course of the disease, even before the strong cough starts.
Symptoms usually start with a mild cold, such as a runny nose and fever. After a week, it can develop into severe coughing fits that can lead to vomiting. Infants can experience serious complications such as respiratory arrest during a coughing fit.
Source: Health Norway.
Margrethe Greve-Isdahl is a senior physician and specialist in children’s diseases at the Institute of Public Health (FHI).
She tells VG that they have seen an increase in whooping cough in Norway since the New Year.
– In March, 328 cases were reported, which was the highest number in one month since 2017. In recent weeks, the incidence has been highest in Trøndelag, Akershus, Oslo and Innlandet. We are updating the final figures for April which will be published later this week. It appears that the increase in the number of reported whooping cough cases is continuing.
– Whooping cough is highly contagious. High vaccination coverage in the population helps to prevent the spread of infection, but neither vaccination nor past infection provides lasting protection, she says, and continues:
– That is why vaccinated people can also get sick, especially when it has been a long time since they last received a vaccine. During the pandemic and the time afterwards, there has been very little whooping cough, and when there are few people who have had the disease in recent years, there will be more people who can become ill when the bacteria now spreads again. There are already several places in the country that have an increase in whooping cough. Local outbreaks of this disease are not uncommon.
