Vanuatu’s Ministry of Health has confirmed two cases of Pertussis infection, “whooping cough” from Santo.
A statement from the Ministry said as of January 29, 2019, two cases have been confirmed by clinical testing
The cases are Okoro village in Santo and Aore Island.
MOH confirmed that the two victims were hospitalized at Northern Provincial Hospital in Santo and are being carefully monitored by the focal surveillance officer in Luganvillle.
The Ministry of Health is advising parents that Pertussis is preventable and urges them to ensure that their children are up-to-date in their vaccination schedule.
Pertussis is a highly contagious disease of the respiratory tract caused by Bordetella pertussis, a bacteria that lives in the mouth, nose, and throat.
Many children who contract pertussis have coughing spells that last 4 to 8 weeks. The disease is most dangerous in infants.
The first symptoms generally appear 7–10 days after contact with an infected person, and include mild fever, runny nose, and cough, which in typical cases gradually develops into fits of coughing followed by whooping inhalation (hence the common name of whooping cough).
Pertussis can result in several life-threatening complications, including pneumonia, seizures, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and in some cases, death.
Photo supplied. Caption: North provincial Hospital, Santo