The sign for the Japan Institute for Health Security is seen in front of the National Center for Global Health and Medicine building in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on April 14, 2025. (Mainichi/Mimi Niimiya)
TOKYO — A one-month-old girl without underlying health conditions died after being infected with whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory disease that causes severe coughing, the Japan Institute for Health Security (JIHS) revealed in an April 18 report.
According to the JIHS, the girl began coughing and was hospitalized after her respiratory condition worsened. She was diagnosed with whooping cough, and on the fourth day in hospital she was transferred to the Tokyo Metropolitan Children’s Medical Center with respiratory failure. She was placed on a ventilator, and also showed signs of pneumonia.
By the third day after the transfer, the infant’s respiratory failure and pulmonary hypertension had worsened, and her kidneys started failing. She was placed on an Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) machine to provide heart and lung support and also underwent dialysis, but passed away on the fifth day at the medical center. She had not yet received any vaccinations, and her mother had not been inoculated during pregnancy.
The girl was infected with an antibiotic-resistant strain of the bacteria. Between November 2024 and March 2025, a total of five similar cases involving resistant bacteria strains were reported at the same medical center, including the deceased baby. None of these patients had a history of traveling overseas, and it is suspected that the disease was transmitted from their siblings or other household members.
According to the JIHS’ preliminary data, 722 new cases of whooping cough were reported nationwide during the week leading up to April 6. The total number of patients this year has reached 5,652, already surpassing the 4,054 patients reported throughout all of last year.
The JIHS noted that antibiotic-resistant strains may be spreading in Tokyo, but emphasized that vaccination remains effective.
(Japanese original by Rikka Teramachi, Lifestyle, Science & Environment News Department)
AloJapan.com