Skopje, 11 January 2024 (MIA) - The Infectious Diseases Commission will probably meet next week, the situation with the whooping cough, Covid and influenza is not alarming, the head of the Infectious Diseases Commission, Aleksandar Petlichkovski said on Thursday.

"We will have a regular meeting, review the situation and see if any new measures need to be taken," Petlichkovski said.

Regarding pertussis, most commonly known as the whooping cough, babies up to one-year-old, children and young people from the ages of 10 to 20 are most affected, but adults are known to get sick too.

"The World Health Organization reports that the whooping cough peaks every 4–5 years, even with adults," Petlichkovski noted.

Of the two cases registered in the country, one was a 29-year-old girl, a foreign national, probably of local origin, who got ill, diagnosed abroad and started treatment after arriving in the country, preventive therapy has also been issued to her relatives. The other case was an unvaccinated child, who is now being treated at the children's hospital "Kozle."

"The situation is not alarming. Nothing extraordinary or dramatic has happened over the years, we've had somewhere from zero up to forty cases in the last five years. There were three cases last year. We haven't had an epidemic in years,"Petlichkovski stressed, pointing out that there have been many other cases in the region.

According to him, vaccination is the safest, most reliable and effective protection against the whooping cough and all other diseases for which there are vaccines.

In regard to the seasonal flu, the number of cases has increased relatively compared to last year.

"We expected such numbers. The situation is not scary nor unexpected. A typical start to the flu season. At the end of February, we expect a peak is the numbers for influenza and influenza-like illnesses," the Infectious Diseases Commission head told MIA.

He emphasized that people should not be worried about Covid-19. The number of positive Covid tests was 11 percent in the past week, which is not a large percentage. He recommends that the elderly, as well as those with chronic illnesses, take precautions and get vaccinated against influenza and Covid.

“During the last two meetings, we made a proposal-recommendation to the Ministry of Health to recommend the use of protective masks in health facilities and pharmacies. In order for that recommendation to have any weight and to be binding, it has to go through the Government's crisis management staff. But we have not gotten a response," Petlichkovski explained. ssh/sk/

Photo: MIA