Efe Guadalajara
Guadalajara
Updated Thursday, February 1, 2024-15:23
The General Directorate of Public Health of Castilla-La Mancha has confirmed that there is an outbreak of whooping cough in Guadalajara with 124 affected,
mainly in schools, mostly children
.
In a press release, the Ministry of Health reported this Thursday that among those affected there are
six adults
and also
two cases detected in schools in the Community of Madrid.
Likewise, it has indicated that in all cases,
a contact study
has been carried out (family, school and extracurricular), and it has been recommended to apply chemoprophylaxis and complete vaccination if appropriate, while an information note has been sent to the educational centers already the centers where extracurricular activities are carried out, as well as the parents.
Infectious and very contagious
Health has indicated that whooping cough is an infectious disease caused by the
bacteria 'bordetella pertussis
', which is very contagious through the respiratory route and poses a serious risk to the lives of infants if they are not vaccinated.
Infection can be
serious in unvaccinated infants, immunocompromised people, and pregnant women.
Its symptoms develop in two phases, of which the first usually lasts one or two weeks and can be
easily confused with a cold
or other respiratory infections, as it causes nasal congestion, low fever and occasional mild cough.
From the second week onwards, the most serious symptoms may appear, especially
rapid, violent and uncontrollable coughing attacks
.
The Ministry of Health has stressed that health authorities insist on the importance of
vaccination as a key strategy
to protect against this type of disease, as well as complying with the instructions provided by Public Health for confirmed cases and contacts.
He has also pointed out that experts have verified an increase in whooping cough cases
after the Covid-19 pandemic
, both in Spain and internationally.