70 cases of whooping cough have been reported to Public Health France since the beginning of 2024 in infants under 12 months of age, compared to 45 cases in 2022 and 39 cases in 2023. Indeed, France has experienced a sharp increase in the number of whooping cough cases in recent months, as in many other European countries. “Whooping cough is a bacterial infection which is on the rise in Europe and France unfortunately is not immune to it”, explains Doctor Jimmy Mohamed in a recent video posted on his Instagram account. Public Health France recalls that whooping cough epidemics are notably underway in Croatia, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, and that there is a sharp increase in cases in Belgium, Spain, and even Germany.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection caused by the bacteria called Bordetella pertussis, which causes coughing fits and which can last for several weeks in the absence of treatment. According to the Health Insurance website, the disease can be particularly at risk for infants under 6 months old, pregnant women and the elderly.
Whooping cough, a disease 5 times more contagious than Covid according to the doctor
The resumption of the circulation of whooping cough in the territory is worrying, because it is a very contagious disease. In his Instagram video, the doctor Jimmy Mohamed details how this condition is transmitted: “whooping cough, we’re going to catch it with spittle : someone who coughs, sneezes in front of you and is contaminated with whooping cough will make you sick”. He adds that if a person affected by influenza infects an average of 2 people, and one per le Covid environ 3, a patient with whooping cough will transmit the bacteria to between 15 and 17 people on average. For Doctor Jimmy Mohamed, the contagiousness of whooping cough increases the importance of diagnosis, in order to avoid the formation of clusters in the territory.
Comment recognize whooping cough ? “Whooping cough is responsible at the very beginning of a kind of rhinopharyngitis rather banalwe have a runny nose, we cough very frequently”, describes the doctor in his Instagram post. He completes that he will “there will be a second phase, where we will have absolutely unbearable coughing fitswe will cough constantly, and it will get worse, especially at night”. In children, this violent cough can also lead to vomitings, by contracting the stomach. To diagnose whooping cough, you need to do a PCR test“a swab in the nose as we did for Covid and the treatment is based on antibiotics”, explains Jimmy Mohamed.
Whooping cough: vaccination remains the only means of protection against the disease
Public Health France reminds that “vaccination policy against whooping cough in France aims to reduce severe forms, hospitalizations and deaths linked to whooping cough which mainly occur in infants under 6 months of age.”. That’s why vaccination against whooping cough is compulsory for infants, with reminders at 11 months, 6 years, between 11 and 13 years, then at 25 years. “Children are normally vaccinated and protected against whooping cough, the problem is that over time we lose the immunity linked to vaccination, so that is why adults can get sick again if they have not had a booster vaccination”, explains Doctor Jimmy Mohamed. According to health authorities, vaccination against whooping cough therefore remains the best way to prevent the circulation of the disease.
Sources :
- Upsurge in whooping cough in Europe, call for increased vigilance in France – Public Health France – April 18, 2024
- Whooping cough: definition, transmission and symptoms – Ameli.fr
