Number of children hospitalized with whooping cough on the rise

(Baonghean.vn) - At the Tropical Department - Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, in just the past month, 23 children with whooping cough have been treated.

There are currently 12 children with whooping cough being treated at the Tropical Department. The number of children with whooping cough being treated at the department is mainly under 3 months old (accounting for 50%). This time, children with whooping cough are scattered in districts such as: Dien Chau, Thanh Chuong, Do Luong, Nghi Loc, Vinh City...

Doctor examines patient with whooping cough. Photo: Thanh Hoa

Ms. Hoang Thi Oanh (Dien Thanh, Dien Chau) whose child Tran Ngoc Sang (3 months old) is being treated at the Tropical Department said: "Before being hospitalized, my child coughed a lot, ate poorly, and was always fussy, so I took him to the district hospital for examination and treatment. But after 3 days of treatment, I saw that he was coughing more and more at night, and every time he coughed, his face turned purple, and he ate and slept poorly, so the district hospital transferred him to a higher level. After 3 days of treatment at the Tropical Department, his cough has improved and is short-lived, and he eats and sleeps relatively well. Because he has congenital heart disease, he has not been vaccinated yet."

Similarly, patient Le Hai Dang (51 days old, Nghi Hai ward - Cua Lo town) was admitted to the hospital on February 27 due to whooping cough. His mother said that 2 days ago, he stayed at home with a wheezing cough, runny nose, coughing mainly at night, coughing in long bouts. The doctor diagnosed him with whooping cough. After 2 days of treatment, he felt much better, his cough was shorter and he ate and slept better.

It is worth mentioning that the cases of whooping cough treated at the department were all under the age of vaccination, 30% of them were children under 3 months old, and even many children as young as 20 days old had whooping cough.

Doctor Nguyen Van Son consults a mother whose child has whooping cough. Photo: Thu Hien

Meritorious Doctor - Doctor CKII Nguyen Van Son - Head of Tropical Diseases Department said: The reason is that the mother was not vaccinated so she did not have antibodies to pass on to her child, so the child is susceptible to the disease. Whooping cough is an acute respiratory infection, often occurring in young children. The disease is transmitted by direct contact through the respiratory tract with secretions from the patient's nasal and throat mucosa when coughing or sneezing. The disease is highly contagious, especially for people living in the same closed space for a long time such as households, schools...

The onset of the disease may be without fever or mild fever, with upper respiratory tract infection, fatigue, loss of appetite and cough. Whooping cough is very typical, manifested by the child coughing uncontrollably, followed by a wheezing phase like a rooster crowing. At the end of the cough, there is often a lot of clear phlegm and then vomiting. The disease often progresses severely, easily leading to death due to secondary infection, causing complications of pneumonia, bronchopneumonia, especially in children under 5 years old and malnourished children.

Thu Hien - Thanh Hoa