The number of whooping cough patients in the Czech Republic this year exceeded 32,000 at the end of September, including 566 children under one year who could not have completed the relevant vaccination, according to a National Institute of Health (SZU) press release yesterday.
Last month, 2,691 people were infected and two more senior citizens succumbed to the disease, bringing the total number of deaths this year to 11, including two newborn babies.
“Epidemiologists say…the number of reported cases of pertussis is slowly decreasing,” said SZU spokeswoman Stepanka Cechova.
In September, there were about 700 new cases per week. This year’s total number of reported cases is the highest in the Czech Republic since 1958, when vaccination against whooping cough began in the former Czechoslovakia.
“As pertussis is a highly contagious disease and the course of the disease does not usually lead to a visit to a doctor initially, pertussis is often diagnosed too late and the infected person often manages to infect the wider environment,” Cechova said.
As with other diseases affecting the respiratory tract, experts urge people with symptoms to stay at home and not spread the disease. “Cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, wear respirators in public in an effort not to infect others, and wash your hands frequently,” said Cechova, summarising the recommendations.
Numbers of whooping cough cases:
| Year/Month | Number of cases |
| 2019 | 1,347 |
| 2020 | 696 |
| 2021 | 51 |
| 2022 | 96 |
| 2023 | 494 |
| 2024 | 32,090* |
| January | 378 |
| February | 1,256 |
| March | 3,660 |
| April | 6,448 |
| May | 6,003 |
| June | 4,539 |
| July | 3,934 |
| August | 3,170 |
| September | 2,691 |
*until September 29Source: SZU
