A total of 28 cases of pertussis, most commonly known as the whooping cough, have been recorded on the territory of Skopje so far, Public Health Center’s Lulzime Bajrami told MIA on Wednesday.
A spike in cases prompted the Commission for Infectious Diseases to propose declaring whooping cough epidemic in Skopje.
Health authorities have been urging citizens for vaccination against pertussis. The vaccine is administered at 2, 4, 6, 18 months and again at the age of 7, which is crucial in preventing the disease from spreading.
Concerned by the growing number of cases of whooping cough in the country and news of measles cases in the region, UNICEF joined local health experts’ appeals to parents and caregivers to reach out to their local healthcare facility to catch up on missed vaccinations.
