Cases of whooping cough across Austria have increased dramatically this year due to insufficient vaccination coverage, medical officials have announced.
As of August 20, there have been 9,972 cases of pertussis, a potentially life-threatening infection for infants, according to AGES, the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety. In comparison, there were 2,791 cases throughout the entirety of last year.
The Vienna Medical Chamber has stressed the importance of booster vaccinations, recommending them every ten years for adults and every five years from age 60.
Tyrol leads the statistics, with 2,460 cases of whooping cough since the start of the year, followed by Upper Austria with 1,933, Styria with 1,585, Lower Austria with 1,280, and Salzburg with 1,069 cases. In contrast, Vorarlberg (316), Burgenland (201), and Carinthia (164) have reported fewer infections this year.
“Whooping cough causes immense suffering and is extremely dangerous for our youngest,” emphasised Dr Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, First Vice President of the Vienna Medical Chamber. The illness also results in severe coughing fits in adults that can induce vomiting and persist for an extended period. “In my practice in Floridsdorf, I have already registered seven confirmed cases this year, whereas I hadn’t seen any in the past 14 years. My colleagues report a similar situation,” Dr Kamaleyan-Schmied noted.
More than 8% of two to four-year-olds did not receive a single vaccination against whooping cough in 2023. This group is also unvaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and hepatitis B—all included in the six-in-one vaccine against pertussis, according to Ministry of Health figures. Additionally, 10% of this age group received only the first dose and did not complete the necessary vaccinations for the three-part basic immunisation.
Among six to nine-year-olds, the vaccination rate with three doses was 86% in 2023. The recommended fourth dose, either between the sixth and eighth birthday or ideally at school entry, was given to 56%. However, 6% of children in this age group (approximately 22,000) remain completely unvaccinated, while more than 14% (52,000 children) have not received the initial three doses.
AGES data on age-specific incidence and hospitalisation rates indicates that while infants under one year old have the highest incidence rate at 688 per 100,000 and a hospitalisation rate of nearly 40%, it underscores the critical need to vaccinate pregnant women and ensure timely completion of the basic immunisation.
Whooping cough is not solely a childhood disease; the most affected age group, apart from children aged five to nine (2,152 out of 9,972 cases), is adults aged 30 to 59, with 2,127 cases reported.
