In the Netherlands, there is a rise in incidence of pneumonia and whooping cough among youngsters. The number of cases has increased dramatically in recent weeks, according to weekly data from the Nivel research institute.
Pertussis, sometimes known as whooping cough, is a contagious sickness characterised by a violent cough that finishes in a “whooping” sound when inhaled. Pneumonia is a lung infection that can cause difficulty breathing and symptoms such as coughing, fever, and chest pain.
In the Netherlands each week, around 10 out of every 100,000 children aged 0 to 14 consulted a medical practitioner for whooping cough. This is more than double the figure from the prior week. The number of children seeking doctors for whooping cough is three times greater this year than in the previous three years. Since early October, these figures have been rising.
