SEOUL - South Korea's disease control agency said on Tuesday that the country reported its first death from whooping cough involving an infant.

An infant of less than two months old tested positive for whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory disease, late in October and died last week following the worsened symptoms, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

It marked the first reported death from the disease since the KDCA began to compile relevant data in 2011.

ALSO READ: WHO to convene emergency meeting on mpox on Nov 22

The whooping cough, known as pertussis, usually affects children and causes severe coughing and difficult breathing.

The cumulative number of whooping cough cases soared this year, with 30,332 people diagnosed with the infectious disease as of the first week of November.

It was sharply up from 292 cases confirmed for the whole year of 2023.

The disease control agency called on pregnant women, families, caregivers and healthcare workers to get vaccinated to protect infants from the disease.