Health authorities have assembled a countermeasures team from ministries that handle infectious respiratory diseases, in response to a spike in the number of patients diagnosed with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection or pertussis.

At an inaugural meeting on Tuesday, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency(KDCA) Commissioner Jee Young-mee talked about the domestic situation concerning the two bacterial infections and vaccinations for those at high risk.

Referring to the nation’s first-ever reported death from pertussis, also known as whooping cough, the KDCA urged pregnant women and their caregivers to get vaccinated.

The recent pertussis fatality involved an infant who had not yet had their initial shots. 

As of Saturday, there had been 33-thousand-327 cases of pertussis so far this year, 114 times last year’s total of 292 cases.

The KDCA chief said Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections were also on the rise, prompting authorities to issue a transmission advisory for the first time and to expand state support for diagnosis and treatment.

She said her agency continues to urge the public to get vaccinated against respiratory diseases, including COVID-19, the seasonal flu and pertussis, ahead of the winter season.