Macau recorded this year’s fifth and sixth cases of pertussis, aka whooping cough, yesterday, the Health Bureau (SSM) announced in a statement last night.
According to the statement, the two patients are local sisters aged one and four. They were staying in the mainland between July 12 and Friday last week, during which both came down with a cough at the end of last month, after which they were taken to medical institutions in the mainland for treatment several times.
After returning to Macau on Friday last week, the statement said, the two girls’ symptoms persisted, after which they were taken to the private Kiang Wu Hospital the next day where they were then hospitalised.
According to the statement, the two girls were diagnosed with pertussis yesterday after testing positive for Bordetella pertussis.
Last night’s statement said that both were in a stable condition.
Kiang Wu Hospital reported the two cases to the Health Bureau yesterday.
The statement said that by yesterday none of the two sisters’ family members living with them in Macau had come down with similar symptoms.
According to the statement, both had previously each received four DTaP jabs in Macau, a vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.
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.
However, the statement said, the incidence rates of pertussis have been gradually increasing in various countries and regions worldwide over the past decade, adding that one of the possible reasons is that pregnant women and other adults’ levels of antibodies against pertussis have been gradually declining because of a decrease in natural infections over the period.
Except this year’s fourth patient, a 71-year-old local man, all other pertussis patients so far this year have been babies or small children.
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.
This poster downloaded from the website of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection (CHP) yesterday shows information on whooping cough.
