Two newborns die from whooping cough in Honduras and suspected cases increase

Honduras.– The death of two newborns due to whooping cough so far in 2026 has raised the alarm of the health system in northern Honduras, due to the increase in suspected cases of this respiratory disease in the metropolitan region of San Pedro Sula. According to the head of networks at the Miguel Paz Barahona Health Center, Dr. Wilmer Euceda, as of the close of the seventh epidemiological week of 2026, 18 suspected cases of whooping cough had been registered in that area, of which nine have already been confirmed by the health authorities. The specialist explained that in the same period of 2025 the number of suspected cases was practically half, which shows a significant increase in the circulation of the disease during the first months of this year. Furthermore, he recalled that throughout 2025, two deaths from whooping cough were reported in the country, while in just the first two months of 2026, the same number of deaths has already been reached, a trend that keeps the region’s medical teams on alert.

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“We are concerned about what is currently happening with whooping cough cases”, expressed Euceda, noting that healthcare personnel have reinforced epidemiological surveillance and launched information campaigns primarily aimed at pregnant women and parents of young children. Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium that affects the respiratory tract and causes severe coughing fits that can lead to serious breathing difficulties.

Although it can affect people of any age, newborns and babies under six months are the most vulnerable because their immune system has not yet fully developed. Health authorities remind that the main measure to prevent complications is vaccination, both in pregnant women and in the newly born.