Whooping cough and measles cases down in Kazakhstan
According to the Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Zaure Akhmetova, no local cases across twenty-three ICD diseases have been recorded in Kazakhstan for 6 months of this year, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
In particular, there have been no recorded cases of cholera, anthrax, typhoid, tetanus, diphtheria, or rabies in Kazakhstan over the past six months. The incidence of 26 infectious diseases has decreased compared to the same period last year. For instance, there has been a 91% decrease in the measles incidence between June of the current year and December 2023. Similarly, there has been a 42.5% decrease between May of the current year and the same period last year.
“A total of 94 measles cases were detected over the past week, 72 cases less than in the previous week,” Akhmetova stated.
Furthermore, since the beginning of July, there has been a notable decline in whooping cough-related morbidity. In the most recent week, Kazakhstan recorded 60 whooping cough cases, representing a 50% reduction compared to the previous week.
The measles and whooping cough cases are on the rise, with unvaccinated children accounting for a significant portion of cases. In fact, 61% of unvaccinated children are not vaccinated due to parental refusal, 22% due to medical withdrawal, and 17% due to failure to achieve vaccination status.
Earlier, it was reported that there was a significant increase in several infectious diseases, including whooping cough (up 81 times), measles (up 12 times), mumps (up 3 times), viral hepatitis A (up 1.5 times), rotavirus infection (up 17%), acute intestinal infection (up 13.9%), and tuberculosis (up 11%).
According to the statement by the sanitary epidemiological control department of Kostanay, adults account for 158 (30.3%) and children 364 (69.7%) of the total 522 measles cases reported in the city.
