Whooping cough trend in Saxony continues to rise

The number of whooping cough cases in Saxony continues to rise significantly. According to the latest epidemiological report from the State Investigation Institute (LUA), a total of 663 cases had been reported by the third week of July, nine times more than at the same time last year. Compared to the previous year, all 29 weekly reports show an increase or even a multiple of the previous year's level, according to the report.

According to the LUA, many schoolchildren and young adults are falling ill this year "and fewer of the otherwise significantly more affected infants". In addition to the expected post-pandemic catch-up effect, "the vaccination gaps among schoolchildren and young adults" could certainly contribute to the increase in cases. However, whooping cough is diagnosed less frequently in adults and the particularly vulnerable elderly - and is assessed as chronic bronchitis.

A good half of the reported cases (51.6 percent) have so far affected children and adolescents between the ages of one and 15. "This is roughly comparable to the pre-pandemic years and should not be considered exceptional." The figures were 45.5 percent in 2017, 45.2 percent in 2018 and 53.7 percent in 2019. The proportion of infants, i.e. people under one year of age, is currently 2.9 percent; that of the 15 to 25 age group is just over a quarter (25.2 percent).

"Further developments remain to be seen," commented the Ministry of Health. It points out that increased testing and the introduction of new laboratory methods have also contributed to the "significant increase" in the number of cases - and a minimization of the number of unreported cases.

Health Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) urgently called for vaccination or regular boosters. Whooping cough is "highly contagious" and is transmitted via droplet infection. It is particularly important for infants and older people, who are at risk of severe courses of the disease, that their contacts are also vaccinated.

According to the ministry, the vaccination rates of children whose vaccination card was presented at the school entry examination are continuously decreasing, as are those of four-year-olds in daycare centers. Those of sixth-graders have also "deteriorated significantly" in the past two years. In 2022/2023, 91.5 percent of nursery school children were vaccinated against whooping cough, 38.1 percent of primary school children and 41.5 percent of sixth-graders.