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Only 3 percent. Poles were vaccinated against whooping cough after the age of 18. 39 percent did not perform any vaccination in adulthood and only 24 percent. is aware that there is a vaccination schedule for adults, according to a Kantar opinion poll conducted at the end of March 2021.
- Experts sound the alarm: it is a myth that whooping cough is a childhood disease, there are many cases among adults
- Whooping cough is more contagious than COVID-19, and in addition, the first symptoms resemble a common cold – this makes diagnosis difficult
- Adults should have a booster dose of whooping cough vaccine every 10 years
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
Whooping cough in adults
The results of the study were presented at the conference «Whooping cough – don’t take chances. Do you really grow out of diseases and vaccinations? », Which took place on April 8 at the PAP Press Center.
Whooping cough – formerly known as whooping cough – is mistakenly viewed as a rare childhood disease, essentially eradicated by a compulsory immunization program. Only one in three Poles is aware that whooping cough can also be diagnosed in adulthood, 11 percent. knowledge of the symptoms in adults and only 4 percent. knows about possible complications. Meanwhile, more than half of the diagnosed cases in our country concern people over the age of 15.
The toxins produced by whooping cough rods (Bordetella pertussis) destroy the alveoli, small blood vessels and cause necrosis of the respiratory epithelium, which results in the secretion and retention of thick mucus, often with blood, causing tiring, long-lasting cough and breathing difficulties.
Whooping cough is called a “well cough” in adults because tiring bouts of cough with apnea lasting several dozen minutes can last up to several weeks. Every fourth patient requires hospitalization, and complications, including pneumonia, hernia, fainting as a result of apnea, urinary incontinence, and even rib fractures affect more than 40 percent. people over the age of 60.
– The population is aging. In 2019, there was a moment when the number of people over 65 years old in the world was greater than the number of children under 5 years old. We are not stronger with age. The elderly have a weak immune system. The risk of developing whooping cough is increased by: accompanying diseases, the number of which increases with age, the use of many drugs, overcrowding in care centers and a poorer response to antibiotic treatment – explained Dr. n.med. Ernest Kuchar, chairman of the Polish Society of Vaccinology, head of the Pediatrics Clinic with the Observation Department of the Medical University of Warsaw.
Whooping cough – symptoms in adults
According to the expert, vaccination of adults protects against the disease, alleviates the course of the disease and reduces the risk of serious complications. Therefore, they should be an indispensable element of caring for health in adulthood. This is especially important in the case of whooping cough, for which even the doctors themselves have a problem diagnosing it.
– I am the best example of this, it was only after a few weeks of persistent nocturnal bouts of coughing two years ago that I realized that it was not an allergy to feathers, but whooping cough – said Ernest Kuchar.
The symptoms of the disease in adults in the initial period are easily confused with an infection of the upper respiratory tractsuch as the common cold. Whooping cough differs from the flu and COVID-19 by the absence of a fever. However, if a paroxysmal dry cough persists for more than seven days, it may be whooping cough and it is worth considering more detailed diagnosis.
– Whooping cough is an eminently contagious disease. One cough infects 12-17 people around him, which is 10 times more than in the case of COVID-19, where one cough infects 1,6 people on average. It’s easier to get whooping cough than the flu, mumps, rubella or chicken pox – emphasized Dr. n.med. Grażyna Cholewińska, provincial consultant in the field of infectious diseases, head of the XNUMXrd Department of the Provincial Infectious Hospital in Warsaw.
Whooping cough in Poland
In 2019, 1 jobs were registered in Poland. 629 cases of whooping cough, while in 2020 – 743 (due to the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence was several times lower than in previous years). The uncharacteristic course of whooping cough in adults hinders proper diagnosis and causes the actual incidence to be much higher than the official statistics show. For one reported case of whooping cough in Poland there are on average 71 unreported cases in all age groups, and among 65-70-year-olds it may even be 320 cases (according to the NIZP-PZH research from 2009-2011).
– The problem is that we consider whooping cough is a historical disease, which is no longer available due to universal vaccinations – said Dr. Grażyna Cholewińska-Szymańska.
– We have a lot to do in the field of health education of the society. People who do not get booster doses of vaccines usually get whooping cough. Meanwhile, the Kantar study shows that 80 percent. respondents are not vaccinated because they do not see such a need or are not aware that it should be vaccinated, the drug stated. Michał Sutkowski, president of the Warsaw Family Physicians, press spokesman of the College of Family Physicians in Poland, vice-dean for the development of the Medical Faculty of the Lazarski University.
Vaccinations for whooping cough
– The pandemic has changed the way people view infectious diseases. COVID-19 has highlighted the need for vaccinations when treating the effects of the disease is difficult. This also applies to other infectious diseases. This is a good time to talk about the adult vaccination schedule, emphasized Magdalena Kołodziej, president of the board of the MY PATJENCI Foundation.
In Poland, immunization of children against whooping cough is compulsory, adults are recommended and therefore paid. They are implemented with combined vaccines against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (Tdap).
– Resistance to whooping cough is unstable, declining over time, both after vaccination and infection. The most effective way to prevent the disease is regular immunization, which provides immunity up to 10 years Ernest Kuchar summed up.
The conference was organized by GSK as part of the inauguration of the educational campaign “Whooping cough – don’t take any chances”.
This may interest you:
- The first symptoms resemble a cold. Even doctors find it difficult to recognize
- Three vaccinations every adult should get – it’s not about COVID-19
- Whooping cough “does not look” at age
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