A concerning surge in whooping cough-a highly contagious respiratory illness-is sweeping across argentina, with a disproportionate impact on infants. Already in 2025, the country has reported seven deaths among children under two, including three newborns, signaling a public health crisis not seen in years.Health officials attribute the rise to declining vaccination rates,exacerbated by disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic,and are urging increased immunization efforts to protect the most vulnerable populations.
A surge in whooping cough cases in Argentina has sparked a public health concern not seen since before the pandemic. In just six weeks, seven children under the age of two have died, including three newborns, as the Bordetella pertussis bacteria spreads at a rate that has surprised experts. With the country reporting increased consultations and confirmed cases in 19 provinces – more than double the number reporting cases a year ago – health officials point to a common denominator: low vaccination rates and a lack of protection for the youngest infants. This situation raises a critical question: what is whooping cough, and how is it transmitted?
As of mid-October, official records confirmed 333 cases among more than 3,400 consultations consistent with whooping cough. Two weeks later, positive cases had risen to 688 out of 5,110 reported cases in the national surveillance system. Outbreaks in Tierra del Fuego and an increase in cases in provinces in the central and southern regions – including Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe, Salta, Mendoza, and the city of Buenos Aires – demonstrate a sustained pattern. 40% of infections occur in children under one year old, particularly before six months, when infants have not completed their primary vaccination schedule.
The infant deaths share a common element: none of the four children of vaccination age had documented doses in the National Nominal Vaccination Registry (Nomivac), and the three infants under two months also lacked maternal immunization during pregnancy. The Argentine Pediatric Society (SAP) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) had previously warned of the risk of a regional resurgence linked to low coverage rates, which in the country remain below the recommended 95%.
Whooping cough is a respiratory infection caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. “It’s a bacterial disease that primarily affects children,” explained infectious disease specialist Elena Obieta, who noted the illness is known as tos convulsa, or convulsive cough, due to its characteristic intense coughing fits. She detailed that patients first experience a nonspecific catarrhal period, followed by what is called paroxysmal cough – a series of five dry coughs culminating in a whooping sound when inhaling. “Young children can become cyanotic and even convulse due to lack of oxygen,” she said, explaining the historical origin of the disease’s name. This information is crucial as whooping cough can be particularly dangerous for vulnerable populations.
Obieta emphasized that babies are the most vulnerable group because they lack antibodies and only begin vaccination at two, four, and six months. “They remain exposed until the primary vaccination schedule is completed,” she said, adding that booster doses at 18 months and upon school entry complete the protection. She also warned that outbreaks can begin in adults, as occurred in Tierra del Fuego, but that infants remain those most severely affected.
For Obieta, protection should begin before birth. “Every pregnancy requires a new application of the acellular triple bacterial vaccine (or DTaP) starting in the 20th week, because antibody transfer occurs at that specific time,” she explained. She also stressed that all personnel working with babies – nurses, doctors, daycare teachers – should receive the vaccine every five years. Low population coverage, she underscored, promotes the re-entry of the pathogen and outbreaks due to a lack of herd immunity, in a disease that is transmitted through the respiratory tract, via microscopic droplets expelled when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or even laughs.
Infectologist Enrique Casanueva Martínez, advisor to the Pediatric Infectious Disease Service at Austral Hospital, agreed that protection during pregnancy is fundamental. He recalled that the disease “comes from coqueluche in French” and that its clinical description dates back to around the year 1500. He described the coughing fits and the reprise – that anguished breathing following an attack – as classic signs caused by Bordetella pertussis. He indicated that the most severe cases are concentrated in children under six months, especially when the mother is not vaccinated. “The initial doses on the vaccination schedule also don’t provide much protection,” he clarified, meaning the youngest children are most likely to become ill and die.
Casanueva explained that there are currently three main types of vaccines that include protection against whooping cough. The first is the acellular triple bacterial vaccine, indicated during pregnancy to transfer antibodies to the baby. The second is the pentavalent vaccine, which is part of the childhood vaccination schedule and uses the whole pertussis component, which can cause infrequent adverse reactions such as isolated seizures. The third is the hexavalent vaccine, which incorporates an acellular version of pertussis along with protection against diphtheria, tetanus, Haemophilus influenzae, hepatitis B, and polio. All are administered starting at two months, with doses at 2, 4, and 6 months, and boosters at 18 months, upon school entry, and at 11 years.
As epidemiological surveillance strategies are intensified, infectious disease specialist Leda Guzzi warned that whooping cough cases can last between two and three months, with persistent cough, weakness, and post-crisis vomiting. She noted that vaccines remain the central tool, accompanied by mass campaigns, catching up on delayed vaccination schedules, early initiation of antibiotics without waiting for PCR results, and appropriate management of contacts in settings such as schools. This comprehensive approach is vital to controlling the spread of the disease.
Guzzi also listed the signs that require urgent medical attention: difficulty breathing, vomiting during or after coughing fits, noisy breathing or stridor, cyanosis, extreme exhaustion, and pauses in breathing or apnea, especially in infants.
The SAP alerted that cases in 2025 already triple those of 2024 and that the current territorial dispersion resembles that of 2019, when 953 positive cases were confirmed nationwide. Five provinces have not reported cases this year, but the general pattern shows sustained expansion. The organization believes the country faces a scenario that requires reinforcing clinical suspicion, accelerating diagnoses, and catching up on vaccination schedules to curb transmission.
The disease, which combines high contagiousness with lethality in very young children, has once again shown that its impact is particularly devastating when coverage rates fall. Amid increasing circulation, specialists return to the same point: vaccination during pregnancy, complete childhood schedules, and immunization of healthcare personnel should not be optional.
