Whooping cough cases top 20,000 in the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic Health Department, or Statni Zdravotni Ustav (SZU), reported an additional 1,154 pertussis, or whooping cough cases last week.
This brings the total cases for the year to 20,114 through June 16.
Most cases of pertussis in 2024 to date are reported by the following regions: Central Bohemia (2,486), South Bohemia (2,171), Moravian-Silesian (2,113) and Ústecký (1,960).
2.3 percent of the total cases required hospitalization for their illness and six deaths were recorded ( five deaths were in elderly people with underlying conditions and one fatality was in a child under one month old).
In 2024, a total of 295 cases of pertussis were reported in children under one year of age. Out of this total, 138 children (46.8%) were hospitalized.
The most cases of disease and the highest morbidity are still in the age group of 15-19 years.