The General Directorate of Epidemiology of the Secretary of Health issued a surveillance alert due to the increase in cases of whooping cough in Mexico. According to the report, the country has experienced a worrying rise in infections of this respiratory disease, which mainly affects children.
The National Committee for Epidemiological Surveillance (CONAVE) has called on all medical units of different levels of care and hospital epidemiological surveillance units to notify, study, and follow up on all probable cases of whooping cough.
Regarding the specific situation of whooping cough in Mexico, it is reported that in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the epidemiological surveillance of this disease was reduced, resulting in a decline in the notification of probable and confirmed cases. However, in 2023, an increase in infections began to be observed.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacterium. Initial symptoms usually appear between one and two weeks after infection and include runny and congested nose, sneezing, and mild cough. On the other hand, alarming symptoms include pauses in breathing, severe cough, fever, and difficulty breathing, especially in infants.
In the current year 2025, up to week seven, 120 cases of whooping cough have been confirmed in Mexico, with an incidence of 0.08 cases per one hundred thousand inhabitants, distributed across 21 states. The entities with the highest number of cases are Aguascalientes, Nuevo León, Mexico City, Oaxaca, State of Mexico, Chihuahua, Campeche, and Coahuila.
In light of the increase in whooping cough cases, CONAVE urges health centers to strengthen surveillance in children under one year hospitalized to prevent the spread of the disease.
