Whooping cough epidemic sweeps Denmark

The number of whooping cough cases in Denmark in the first eight months of the year has now reached a staggering level -- more than three times than usual, the State Serum Institute (SSI) said here on Wednesday.

SSI said in a press release that up to and including the month of August, 1,323 whooping cough cases were detected. This is more than the total figures for 2018 and 2017 combined.

Health Minister Magnus Heunicke is encouraging all parents to make sure that their young children follow Denmark's child vaccination program.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease.

Children may cough so hard that they vomit, break ribs, or become very tired from the effort. Children less than one-year-old may have little or no cough and instead go through potentially life-threatening periods where they do not breathe.

According to Denmark's child vaccination program, all children must be vaccinated against whooping cough four times -- at three months, five months, 12 months and five years.