Taiwan has reported the first case of whooping cough in two years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Wednesday, as it encouraged parents to vaccinate their children against the potentially fatal disease.
A junior-high school student on Tuesday was diagnosed with whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by bacteria, the CDC said in a news release.
The teenager on Sept. 20 developed a sore throat, a cough, fever, chest pain and headache, which persisted after seeking medical attention, it said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
He was admitted to hospital on Oct. 6, it said.
His condition was improving and he was in a stable condition, the CDC added.
The boy had received five doses of the DTP-HB-Hib vaccine, also known as the five-in-one vaccine, against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenzae type B disease, it said.
One of the teenager’s four other family members also developed a cough and was prescribed medication, it said, but added that it was unclear whether the person was also infected.
Local health authorities have traced 44 close contacts of the boy, none of whom have developed similar symptoms, the CDC said.
Pregnant women and people who babysit infants or young children should get one shot of the five-in-one vaccine at their own expense to protect preschool-age children, who are at risk of severe symptoms when infected with the disease, it said.
Whooping cough can cause life-threatening complications, such as pneumonia and brain lesions, in children, especially those younger than six months.
CDC data showed that Taiwan recorded 30 cases of whooping cough in 2018, 32 in 2019 and five in 2020.
Among the cases, 57 percent were younger than two months or had received none or only one dose of the vaccine, while 20 percent were adults, the data showed.
Preschool-age children in Taiwan are eligible to receive five shots of the vaccine, with the first administered to children as young as two months.
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