Whooping cough cases soar in Japan, yearly tally tops 40,000
Whooping cough cases continued to soar in Japan with the cumulative figure reaching 43,728 so far this year, a more than tenfold increase on the approximately 4,000 cases reported for all of 2024, a national health research institute said Tuesday, Kyodo reports.
Preliminary data from the Japan Institute for Health Security also showed that the number of cases reported by hospitals and clinics across the country reached a new weekly record of 3,578. The tally for the week through July 6 was the highest since the current survey method was employed in 2018.
Characterized by spasmodic coughing attacks, whooping cough is a highly contagious acute respiratory infection, also known as pertussis, with an incubation period of seven to 10 days. It is expected to take around two to three months to recover from it, according to the institute.
While the disease affects people of all ages, infants younger than 1 year old are at greatest risk of catching it and having severe complications, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Earlier it was reported that typhoon Nari made landfall on Japan’s Hokkaido.
