DOI: https://doi.org/10.36719/2663-4619/115/258-264
Malahat Baghirova
Azerbaijan Medical University
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2969-0082
bmelahet@gmail.com
Konul Jafarova
Azerbaijan Medical University
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1109-1548
PhD in Medicine
infeksiyakonul@gmail.com
Rana Nazarova
Azerbaijan Medical University
https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5167-7107
shah241962@yahoo.com
Gulnara Karimova
Azerbaijan Medical University
https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3912-4260
gulnara@gmail.com
Museyib Abdullayev
Azerbaijan Medical University
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9931-4573
abdullayevmuseyib763@gmail.com
The Whooping Cough Epidemic in the Post-Covid Period
and Ways to Prevent It
Abstract
Pertussis is currently considered one of the most common, controlled infections worldwide. In the pre - vaccination period, pertussis was one of the main causes of child mortality, but the introduction of planned immunization has led to a sharp decrease in morbidity and mortality. Despite the official registration of planned immunoprophylaxis of a large mass of the population (up to 97 %), until now cyclical ups and downs of pertussis occur with a cycle of 3 - 4 years. According to the CDC, only 5 - 10 % of all pertussis cases are diagnosed and recorded.
Mass vaccination had a serious effect on the epidemiological characteristics of pertussis, but it was not possible to achieve complete elimination of the causative agent. Currently, there is an increase in the incidence of pertussis, mainly in countries that use acellular vaccines for vaccination. During the year, 16 million people in the world get sick with pertussis, and 19,500 people die. In developing countries, especially in Africa, the mortality rate of early-age children from pertussis is 23%. Even in developed countries that use acellular vaccines, the incidence of pertussis has increased. So, acellular vaccine is used in more than 50 countries of the world. The result of the conducted studies show that those who received 5 doses of acellular vaccine have an 8.57 and 3.55 times higher risk of contracting pertussis compared to cellular vaccines (at last once). Even in those who received a full course of Tdap consisting of whole-cell vaccines and one revaccination, postvaccinal immunity declines 50% or more after 6.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence of pertussis in Europe and the United States decreased, but in the period after that, an increase was observed again. In 2024 an epidemic of pertussis occurred in many countries of the world, and this is considered the most serious epidemic of the last 25 years.
Keywords: whooping cough, children, epidemic, vaccination, postvaccinal, immunity