The Health Ministry has formed a multipronged plan to put whooping cough (pertussis) vaccinations in the arms of as many unvaccinated children as possible following an outbreak in Jerusalem that has included the death of a 10-week-old baby and the recent hospitalization of a second infant in an intensive care unit.
An epidemiological study indicated that neither the baby who died nor its mother had been vaccinated against the infectious illness, whose popular name is based on the sound an afflicted person makes while severely coughing and trying to take in sufficient air.
Assuta Hospital in Ashdod announced Sunday that a four-month-old baby was brought in on June 14 after having been diagnosed with pertussis at a healthcare clinic. As the infant’s condition worsened — experiencing difficulty in breathing, low oxygen levels, and cyanosis (turning blue) — he was admitted to Assuta’s pediatric intensive care unit. Following treatment with antibiotics and non-invasive ventilation, his condition improved but he was still very sick.
