Whooping cough returns to Tartu University Hospital after decade-long absence

Ten children were hospitalised with whooping cough at Tartu University Hospital's children's clinic last year — a disease not seen in the ward for the previous ten years. Doctors warn that an increasing number of children arriving for hospital treatment are completely unvaccinated.

Tartu University Hospital's children's clinic recorded ten whooping cough cases requiring hospitalisation in the past year, marking the return of a disease that had been effectively absent from the ward for a full decade. Paediatric infectious disease specialist Dr Piia Jõgi and paediatrician Dr Reet Raukas say the trend is deeply concerning.

«There was a long period when we simply did not see these diseases in hospital at all, but now they are back,» said Reet Raukas. Both doctors note that a growing share of children admitted for treatment are entirely unvaccinated — a pattern they link directly to the resurgence of vaccine-preventable illnesses.

Vaccination gaps driving admissions

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is one of several childhood diseases that had been kept at bay by high vaccination rates. Doctors at the Tartu clinic say that as more parents choose not to vaccinate their children, the herd immunity that once protected even unvaccinated individuals is beginning to break down.

The situation at Tartu University Hospital reflects a broader European concern. Health authorities across the continent have flagged declining childhood vaccination rates in recent years, warning that diseases once considered nearly eradicated could make a sustained comeback if the trend continues.

Call for renewed attention to immunisation

Jõgi and Raukas are urging parents to follow the national vaccination schedule and consult their family doctors if they have concerns about specific vaccines. They stress that the diseases now reappearing — including whooping cough — can be severe and even life-threatening in young children, particularly infants too young to have completed their immunisation course.