COBERTURA VACINAL CONTRA COQUELUCHE E A INCIDÊNCIA DE CASOS DA DOENÇA EM CRIANÇAS NO BRASIL (2022-2024)

Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection that can cause significant severity. In Brazil, whooping cough remains an important diagnostic challenge and a relevant public health issue. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the vaccination coverage against whooping cough and the confirmed cases in children between 2022 and 2024, seeking to understand the fluctuations and epidemiological patterns of this disease over that period. This work is descriptive in nature, with a quantitative approach and a retrospective design. The first stage of data collection was carried out using DATASUS, specifically in the “Health Care” tab, under the section “Immunizations – since 1994.” Subsequently, data on disease incidence were accessed through the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN), also available on DATASUS, in the “Morbidity” section. The TABNET platform was also used, which allows tabulation of public data. The query was made in the “Epidemiological and Morbidity” section, with access to the subsection “Notifiable Diseases and Injuries – from 2007 onward (SINAN).” Within this dataset, the category “Whooping Cough” was specifically selected, covering the period from 2022 to 2024 and encompassing the entire national territory. The variables observed were: geographic region of residence, sex, race/color, age group, criteria used for case confirmation, and clinical outcome. The study focused on children up to 9 years old, distributed into three main age groups: under 1 year, 1 to 4 years, and 5 to 9 years. Between 2022 and 2024, there was an 87% increase in DTP vaccine coverage in Brazil, although still below the 95% target set by the Ministry of Health. Whooping cough remains most frequent in children under one year old, with cases mainly confirmed by laboratory tests, reinforcing the importance of targeted vaccination strategies, especially for pregnant women and vulnerable groups, to prevent severe complications and reduce mortality.