Child pneumonia and whooping cough cases in the Netherlands soar to a three-year high

There is an increase in pneumonia and whooping cough cases among children in the Netherlands. According to weekly data from the Nivel research institute, the number of cases has significantly risen in recent weeks.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a contagious illness characterized by a severe cough that ends in a "whooping" sound when breathing in. Pneumonia is a lung infection that can make breathing difficult and cause symptoms like coughing, fever, and chest pain.

Last week, approximately 10 out of every 100,000 children aged 0 to 14 in the Netherlands visited a general practitioner for whooping cough. This figure is more than double that of the previous week. The number of children visiting doctors for whooping cough is higher than in the past three years, with this year's peak being three times higher. These numbers have been increasing since early October.

Pneumonia cases are also rising. “There are a striking number of children and young people with pneumonia,” Nivel reported. Last week, 130 out of every 100,000 children aged 5 to 14 presented such symptoms to a doctor. This rate is over twice the highest number recorded last year, with general practitioners noting more pneumonia cases among teenagers and young adults than in previous years.

While the number of pneumonia cases among children aged 0 to 4 years has been increasing since mid-September, these figures remain lower than those before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nivel did not provide explanations or conclusions regarding these trends in its weekly report.

Last week, AD reported that China was implementing extra measures due to a surge in the number of child pneumonia cases in the northern part of the country. The RIVM stated that it was “not yet possible to say” whether the recent increase in the Netherlands was linked to the situation in China. “We do not know, but we do not assume so,” a spokesperson said.