New Zealand declares early stages of whooping cough epidemic

22/11/2024 18:55

        New Zealand has declared early stages of a highly contagious whooping cough epidemic, with a nationally coordinated response now in place, the Ministry of Health said on Friday.
        
        New Zealand health officials have met to review the latest national and international trends in whooping cough, or pertussis, across the country, which have been closely monitored over recent months and can be particularly dangerous for newborn babies, and older adults, with three babies having died from whooping cough last year.
        
        Case numbers consistently increased for several weeks across New Zealand, meeting the threshold for a national epidemic to be declared, a Ministry of Health statement said, citing the country's last major outbreak of pertussis in 2017, which lasted for months and potentially for a year or more.
        
        Whooping cough cases have been steadily increasing again since September, following spikes in May, June and July, according to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research.
        
        There were 263 cases in the past four weeks between Oct. 19 and Nov. 15 in New Zealand, the highest number of cases over a four-week period to date for all of 2024, it said.