Four children died of whooping cough in Belgrade’s main children’s hospital, Professor Vladislav Vukomanovic told the Serbian state TV (RTS) on Wednesday.

“Four patients died. A child is on a ventilator which means that it’s life is in danger,” said Vukomanovic. The doctor is a pediatric cardiologist and deputy CEO of the Mother and Child Institute. A whooping cough epidemic was declared in Belgrade late last year.

He said the number of whooping cough cases was rising among children but also among adults. He added that a number of the children diagnosed with whooping cough had to be hospitalized.

According to the Belgrade City Public Health Institute a total of 700 cases of whooping cough between March 2023 and January 28 this year including 69 cases reported over the past week. Most of the cases are minors (61 percent) from infants to the age of 14 with 51 patients requiring hospitalization.