Whooping cough continues to spread...The government's 'Respiratory Infectious Disease Countermeasures Team' has been activated.

[Anchor]
These days, when you go to hospitals and clinics such as pediatrics, there are a line of patients with cold symptoms.

In particular, I am worried that the number of whooping cough patients continues to increase.

The government has decided to launch a task force to respond to concerns over the spread of respiratory infections.

This is reporter Lee Moon-seok.

[Reporter]
whooping cough is a respiratory infectious disease characterized by paroxysmal cough.

The trend that began after the Chuseok holiday is not breaking down.

Last week, there were 2,103 new patients, 18 more than the previous week.

At the end of last month, the outbreak slowed down for a while and then turned back to the spread.

Earlier this month, a newborn baby died while being treated for whooping cough.

Mycoplasma pneumonia, which is infected with bacteria, has also been in vogue since May.

The government launched a respiratory infectious disease task force after the spread of whooping cough and a resurgence of COVID-19 in winter.

First of all, vaccination of pregnant women, high-risk groups for respiratory infections, and high-risk families was requested as a response to whooping cough.

We also plan to consider including vaccination for pertussis in pregnant women in future national essential vaccinations so that babies can be born with antibodies.

[Lee Dong-woo / Director of Vaccination Management Division, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: You can receive compensation for expenses through the pregnancy and childbirth support project. We will review whether it can be included in the national vaccination project in the mid to long term.]

For whooping cough patients, the student population from the ages of 5 to 19 accounts for 88% of the total.

The quarantine authorities recommended that people rest at home until symptoms disappear, as attendance is recognized even if both whooping cough and Mycoplasma pneumonia are absent.

I'm YTN's Lee Munseok.