“It’s really coming back with a vengeance”: a strong rebound in whooping cough is confirmed in France

A very strong rebound in whooping cough is confirmed in France, where nearly 6,000 cases were recorded in the first five months of the year, much more than in all of 2023, according to data transmitted this Tuesday, June 4, by the Pasteur Institute.

“During the first five months of 2024, 5,854 cases were diagnosed,” compared to 495 cases in all of 2023, 67 in 2022 and 34 in 2021, indicated the national reference center (CNR) for whooping cough, at the Pasteur Institute. confirming information from Le Parisien.

For this very contagious and sometimes serious disease, this is “a fairly explosive rebound,” declared CNR director Sylvain Brisse. “We expected a resurgence of this cyclical disease, which peaks every three to five years, knowing that the last peak dates back to 2018. The Covid period delayed the recovery, now it is really coming back strongly,” he added.

About fifteen groups

The resumption of the circulation of whooping cough “is beginning in France” from the beginning of 2024, warned Public Health France in mid-April, calling for vigilance and recalling the importance of vaccination.

“In the first quarter, around fifteen clusters occurred, mainly in communities (kindergartens, primary schools, daycares and daycares), but also in families,” the agency noted.

Whooping cough, a respiratory infection caused by bacteria, is transmitted very easily through the air, through contact with a sick person with cough, mainly in the family or community environment.

It causes frequent and prolonged coughing fits, and can be serious for babies and vulnerable people (chronic respiratory patients, immunocompromised people, pregnant women). Deaths are rare but can occur especially in very young unvaccinated babies.

On the European continent, a total of more than 32,000 cases of whooping cough were recorded in thirty countries in the first three months of 2024, more than in the entire year 2023 (more than 25,000), according to a report from the European Center for Disease Prevention. and Control (ECDC) published on May 8.