THE number of pertussis cases in the Czech Republic is increasing rapidly, the country’s health authorities warned today, after the death of three people who suffered from this respiratory disease.

The country of 10.9 million inhabitants recorded 7,888 cases of whooping cough since the beginning of the year, according to National Institute of Public Health.

Last week, the health authorities they counted 1,494 new casesthe fastest weekly increase for this year.

The outbreak is the largest since 1959, when vaccinations began, according to official records.

Vaccination is mandatory in the Czech Republic, but booster shots are not, and some people refuse to do them.

Teenagers are the most affected age group, as parents often ignore the recommendations of a booster shot at age 10 or 11, points out Pavla Svrcinova, a senior Czech health official.

“Out of the total (of 7,888 cases of the disease), 5,808 people have been vaccinated,” the Institute of Public Health states on its website, adding that 183 patients had to be hospitalized.

Three Czechs who became ill have died this year: a 62-year-old man, an 84-year-old woman and a newborn.

The dispersion recorded now contradicts the predictions of the health authorities who, last month, estimated that the number of cases had peaked.

An increase in the number of pertussis cases in Europe was recorded from mid-2023 and continues in 2024. Apart from the Czech Republic, deaths have been recorded in the Netherlands, according to a report by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).