Macau recorded a case of pertussis, aka whooping cough, yesterday, this year’s first one, the Health Bureau (SSM) announced in a statement last night.
Pertussis cases are rare in Macau.
According to the statement, the patient is a seven-month-old local girl. She came down with a cough on December 22, after which she was taken to the private Kiang Wu Hospital for outpatient treatment on Tuesday and Thursday last week. However, the statement said, her symptoms still persisted.
As her cough worsened and she began to develop a wheeze on New Year’s Day, the statement said, the baby was again taken to Kiang Wu Hospital where she was then hospitalised.
According to the statement, the infant tested positive for pertussis. Last night’s statement said that the baby was in a stable condition and remained hospitalised.
Kiang Wu Hospital reported the case to the Health Bureau yesterday.
According to the statement, the infant, born in Macau, had previously had three DTaP jabs, a vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
The statement said that the infant does not attend a day nursery, neither has she travelled outside Macau.
According to the statement, the infant’s father has come down with a cough, but none of the other family members living with her have felt unwell.
The statement warned that without receiving proper treatment, pertussis can be fatal.
The statement noted that antibiotics are effective in treating pertussis provided that they are used early after the onset of the symptoms.
The statement noted that vaccinations are the most effective way for pertussis prevention. The statement also pointed out that the local government’s regular vaccination programme requires every child to receive a DTaP jab when they are two months, four months, six months, 18 months and five years old.
The statement underlined that pertussis is rare in Macau because of the government’s regular vaccination programme.
Macau reported one pertussis case last year.
Macau did not record any pertussis cases in 2021 and 2022. One case was recorded in 2020, while three cases were confirmed in 2019.
