In the clinics of Lazio “cases of whooping cough” in pediatric age are of concern, “according to data from the Region we have in fact gone from 4 cases in 2023 to 34 this year, all recorded in the first months of 2024. Of these, 20 cases concern children from birth to 3 months of life. Really, we cannot let our guard down”. This is what Teresa Rongai, regional secretary of the Italian Federation of pediatricians and secretary of Rome and its province, told Adnkronos during a training and refresher course for doctors. pediatricians held in Rome Objective: to take stock of vaccinations and epidemiological data on preventable diseases in the Lazio Region.
Whooping cough is a disease “which in children aged 1 to 3 months can unfortunately lead to death – warns Rongai – Never let your guard down, we are seeing a decrease in all vaccination protections, which is why the family pediatrician must play a role as a protagonist as the Pnpv 2023-2025 tells us. In the specific case of whooping cough we are very active because we are seeing all our patients through the vaccination registry in order to then be able to revaccinate even older children so as not to circulate the whooping cough virus even in adolescents”.
Vaccination for whooping cough “is mandatory – Rongai points out – it starts from the 61st day of the newborn's life. However, we are seeing a sharp decline in vaccination coverage for this disease. Suffice it to say that in Lazio only 81.79% of 6-year-old children received the booster shot, while just 54.62% of 16-year-olds repeated the whooping cough vaccine”. Family pediatrics “is available to vaccinate in its practices in synergy with the NHS vaccination centers to improve the vaccination health of our children together”, she concludes.
#Vaccines #pediatrician #Rongai #Lazio #increase #whooping #cough #worrying #cases
