The Government of North Macedonia has not yet approved the proposal of the Commission for Infectious Diseases to declare an epidemic in Skopje, due to the increasing number of cases of pertussis.
On Friday, three new cases were registered in the city of Kumanovo and another one in Skopje, bringing the number of infected to 22, many of whom are children and all unvaccinated with the DTP vaccine – against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis.
The Commission for Infectious Diseases, which proposed the declaration of the epidemic in Skopje, has recommended that kindergartens and schools do not admit unvaccinated children with the necessary doses, as a measure to prevent the spread of infection.
The director of the Center for Public Health, Besim Zeqiri, spoke to Euronews Albania about the importance of getting the vaccine, as pertussis attacks the respiratory system.
“I appeal to parents who notice non-specific, prolonged coughs, accompanied by breathing problems or cyanosis, to seek medical attention and get tested as soon as possible. Because even treatment in this case is more specific than in other respiratory diseases”.
Health authorities have called for mass vaccination and Zeqiri reiterated the appeal.
“We will do our best to increase the number of vaccinated children. Teams are calling on unvaccinated individuals and parents of children to get vaccinated”.
Meanwhile, the Commission for Infectious Diseases told Radio Free Europe that “the Government should as soon as possible approve the proposals that lead to the normalization of the situation, including primarily measures in kindergartens since the majority of the infected are children”.
Although the decision has not yet passed in the technical Government, the Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Djoko Velkovski, stated that inspection services have already started inspections in kindergartens to determine the number of unvaccinated children, and also to guide their managers not to accept these children.
“Any child who has not received a certain vaccine will not be able to be part of the child protection system. We will inspect kindergartens and our inspection services will see where we need to intervene to prevent the spread of this epidemic, at least in Skopje, as the hottest spot at the moment,” Velkovski declared, warning of the approval of the Commission’s recommendations at the next meeting of the technical Government.
To achieve herd immunity, over 95 percent of the population must be vaccinated with all types of vaccines, including those against yellow fever or hepatitis B, the flu vaccine, the three-dose vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP), the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella, as well as the vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV).
According to data from the Institute of Public Health, around 83 percent of the population has been vaccinated at the state level, with a tendency to decrease, which has also alarmed health institutions about the possibility of the emergence of other infectious diseases.
