Whooping cough cases in Taiwan rise to 30

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) Two more people had caught whooping cough in Taiwan, bringing the number of cases nationwide to 30 so far this year, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Thursday.

One of the latest cases is a 12-year-old boy who first developed symptoms of the disease at the end of November, according to CDC spokesperson Tseng Shu-huai (曾淑慧).

On Nov. 30, the boy's family sought medical assistance for him after he started to develop a fever and a cough with phlegm while losing his appetite and energy.

After showing no signs of improvement, the boy's family took him to doctors again on Dec. 9 where tests confirmed that he had whooping cough on Dec. 12.

While the bacterial disease is vaccine-preventable, it remains highly contagious nonetheless, prompting the boy's local health bureau to administer preventive medication to three of his family members who were deemed high-risk contacts.

While none of his three family members showed signs of whooping cough at press time, one of his 16 classmates was confirmed as having whooping cough on Dec. 17, Tseng said.

The two students together broadened the group of those under observation to 30 individuals who will be under monitoring until Jan. 7 next year, she added.

Of the 30 cases recorded in Taiwan so far this year, one was imported while 29 were listed as domestic infections.

The numbers for 2024 were as high as the cases documented in 2019, which were the highest numbers within the same time frame in recent years, the CDC said

The CDC added that Taiwan had observed an average of 0 to 32 cases of the disease annually between 2019 and 2023.

The CDC also said that whooping cough cases are currently observed mostly in infants aged 3 months and younger followed by adults aged 20 and older.

In response to the increase in whooping cough cases globally, the CDC urged parents of infants who are 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 18 months old to get their children vaccinated.

Children about to start elementary school should also get a whooping cough inoculation, the CDC said.

The CDC added that those experiencing symptoms such as a sudden cough, wheezing when coughing, a change in skin color when coughing and vomiting after coughing should seek medical attention immediately to avoid spreading the disease to family and friends.