7 Week Old Diagnosed With Whooping Cough

A newborn girl has been admitted to hospital after being diagnosed with Pertussis or whooping cough as it is more commonly known.

Helena Stefáns, the mother of the 7 week old took to Facebook where she explained her daughters current situation and berated anti-vaxxers.

“This is a potentially deadly disease for such a young child and it should not exist in a country where we have free vaccinations,” Helena wrote. “But still there are people who are that ignorant that they CHOOSE not to vaccinate their children!”

Highly contagious

Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease, which initially can easily be mistaken for the common cold. Later on, the coughs can become so serious that the patient vomits, or even breaks ribs. Children less than one year old may, however, not develop a cough, but instead have periods where they don’t breath.

Speaking to RÚV, infectious diseases specialist Þórólfur Gunnarsson said that it was difficult to stop the spread of whooping cough as the vaccination needed to be readministered every ten years.

“We have tried to vaccinate against whooping cough, but the vaccines are just not good enough,” Þórólfur said. “We have advised people to renew the vaccination every time people plan on going on vacation.”

Too young to be vaccinated

As Helena’s daughter in only seven weeks old, she is too young to be vaccinated and in the Facebook post she described the girl’s current situation.

“When she gets coughing fits she goes stiff like a rock, her face becomes glowing red and she vomits from the effort and doesn’t breath,” she wrote. “You people who are that stupid, take your head out of your ass and get the free vaccinations to help spare our little children and the ill from your stupidity.”

Helena included in the Facebook post an audio recording of her child’s cough.