Whooping cough is on the rise – also in Norway

Medicine and health: During the corona pandemic and in the years after, the incidence of the bacterial disease whooping cough decreased in Europe. Now the infection numbers are pointing upwards again.

So far this year, over 32,000 cases of whooping cough have been registered in Europe, while in the whole of 2016, by comparison, just over 41,000 cases were registered.

Here at home, the Institute of Public Health reported 534 cases to the Infectious Disease Reporting System (MSIS) in April, 206 more than in March. This is the highest number of reported infections in a month since 2012.

31 have been admitted to hospital with whooping cough, but no deaths have been reported so far in 2024. In Norway, 17 children under the age of 1 have been diagnosed with whooping cough in 2024. In recent weeks, the incidence of the disease has been highest in Trøndelag, Akershus, Oslo and Innlandet .

ECDC maintains the same, while lower vaccination coverage for pertussis vaccine in several countries and very little pertussis infection during the pandemic may help to explain the increase in the number of infections now.

Whooping cough is usually spread most during the summer months, and for children under six months, the disease poses a “high” health risk according to the ECDC.

For older children and adults over the age of 65, the risk of pertussis infection is described as “medium high”.

– It is a serious disease, especially for newborns. We have a safe and effective vaccine that can prevent it, says EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides.

After one or two weeks, however, the symptoms worsen sharply and can cause violent and uncontrolled coughing fits that last for several months.

In Norway, the vaccine against whooping cough is included in the national child vaccination program and is recommended from the age of three months. Adults are also recommended a refresher dose every ten years to protect themselves from the disease and to prevent further infection.

FHI emphasizes that it may be difficult to compare the figures with those from before the pandemic, because it may be that more people are being tested for whooping cough now.

Whooping cough can be difficult to detect as the symptoms are largely identical to the common cold in that it causes a runny nose, low-grade fever and mild cough.

(© NTB)