In light of the new outbreak in Pardes Hana-Karkur, the Ministry of Health issued instructions to doctors to perform a diagnostic test for the disease using a nasal swab, and to start treatment with the drug Azanil for 5 days. The office also suggested that those who came in close contact with the patient for about 6 weeks from the onset of the patient’s symptoms, should also begin treatment – without the need for a preliminary examination.
Pertussis is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It is a disease that has several stages: it begins with a period of runny nose, after which a bothersome and painful cough appears in attacks hundreds of times a day. The cough may last as long as four months, and easily infect children and adults who are around the patient.
Whooping cough is a particularly dangerous disease for babies up to six months old that can cause severe complications and death. The vaccine given to babies starting at the age of six weeks, provides protection against several diseases, including whooping cough and polio.
According to the accepted recommendations, women in the third trimester of pregnancy should also be vaccinated: vaccinated pregnant women develop antibodies against whooping cough that pass to the fetus and protect it in the first months of its life.