In response to media reports on the interpretation of data on the number of whooping cough cases in Croatia, the Croatian Institute of Public Health (HZJZ) stated on Tuesday that the increased incidence of whooping cough in other European countries cannot be attributed to the situation in Croatia.

Croatian media quoted Politico, which reported an increase in whooping cough cases across Europe, highlighting Croatia as the current European hotspot.

“Currently, Croatia is the European hotspot with 6,381 reported cases in the last 15 months. The decline in immunisation rates is cited as a contributing factor to the spread of whooping cough in Europe,” the media outlet reported.

In a statement on its official website, the HZJZ points out that the number of whooping cough cases in Croatia has recently decreased, according to the published data.

Most whooping cough cases were reported in November and December 2023, with over 2,000 cases reported per month. However, there was a decrease in March 2024, with just over 150 cases.

“Therefore, the increased incidence of pertussis in other European countries cannot be linked to the current situation in Croatia,” the HZJZ said, noting that it will continue to monitor the situation and regularly report on the number of new cases on its website.

Whooping cough, the HZJZ reminds, is an endemic disease that sporadically takes the form of an epidemic. The reported cases since the beginning of 2023 exceed those of the years before the pandemic (2016: 122, 2017: 78, 2018: 128, 2019: 56), while the numbers in the pandemic years were significantly lower (2020: 10, 2021: 7, 2022: 1).

According to reports from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, epidemic whooping cough was already documented in other European countries in 2023. Some countries, such as the Czech Republic and Norway, have seen an increase in cases since the beginning of 2024, according to HZJZ.