A public health campaign on pertussis prevention was launched on Wednesday to raise public awareness of early vaccination and other prevention measures.

Pertussis, listed as a Class B infectious disease in China, and characterized by paroxysmal spasmodic coughing that can persist for months, is one of the most significant cause of infant mortality globally.

Changing transmission patterns and improved monitoring and detecting methods have contributed to a global resurgence in pertussis cases. According to data from the National Health Commission, there were 334,216 reported cases of pertussis nationwide from January to June 2024, 54 times more compared to the same period of last year.

Adolescent and adult patients can exacerbate the spread of the disease to infants and young children despite rarely suffering from severe symptoms of the disease themselves. Due to lack of protective antibodies, newborns and infants under three months are more susceptible to the disease.

The campaign, initiated by People's Health, provides assistance to new parents to select proper vaccines and basic knowledge of the disease through an online quiz.

The pentavalent vaccine is recommended to be given as early as the age of two months and a full course of vaccinations is crucial to the prevention. Research and clinical practice indicates that even the first dose can prevent 42.1 percent of pertussis-related hospitalizations. With each of the following doses given, the protective effect increases and reaches 100 percent after all four doses are received.