National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases

In response to the alarming surge of whooping cough cases, the Health Commission has convened an extraordinary meeting to address the escalating situation. This decision comes following the tragic demise of two infants due to the disease in Kyustendil, prompting urgent action from health authorities.

Professor Iva Hristova, Director of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCCPD), has sounded the alarm on the stealthy danger posed by whooping cough, with mortality rates soaring to a chilling 2-4%. Speaking on bTV, Prof. Hristova underscored the gravity of the situation, shedding light on the often overlooked morbidity lurking beneath the surface.

Two infants from Kyustendil have tragically lost their lives after contracting whooping cough, confirmed by Chief State Health Inspector Assoc. Angel Kunchev and the Ministry of Health to BNR.

As global health authorities sound the alarm over the resurgence of measles worldwide, Bulgaria stands out with a reassuring statistic: no confirmed cases of measles have been reported in the country since the beginning of the year.

Professor Todor Kantardzhiev summarized on BNT that the flu wave has passed, there will be more cases, but they will decrease with each passing week. In the regions of Dobrich, Stara Zagora, and Haskovo, there has been a slight increase in cases over the past week, but the flu is decreasing in all other regions.

Professor Iva Hristova, head of Bulgaria's National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD), alerted the public to a concerning resurgence of health issues affecting schools. Speaking on bTV, she underscored a startling trend among COVID-19 patients, revealing that one in four experiences a rebound effect—a resurgence of symptoms around ten days after initial improvement.

In Bulgaria, the XBB.1.5 variant of COVID-19 was detected for the first time. This was announced by the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases and specified that the case was registered in Sofia.

The new subvariant of "Omicron" - XBB.1, has been detected in Bulgaria, according to the data of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCDPD), published on the center's website. In the table for the results of sequenced samples for variants of COVID-19, it can be seen that the XBB.1 subvariant was detected in two of the samples, of patients from Plovdiv and from Sofia.

"Influenza isolation is increasing. We had an earlier season and we were finding mostly influenza A H3N2, but over time we are finding more of the other one - H1N1, and now they are even. Cases of flu and acute respiratory illnesses are doubling in two weeks, and this trend will continue in January, peaking in February." This is what Prof.

"The new measures will be announced in a day or two because it is very important to limit the spread of the virus", the director of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Prof. Iva Hristova, announced on Bulgaria On Air.