The Montpellier University Hospital gives the alert. While whooping cough has been reappearing in France for several weeks, two children have died from this very contagious disease in the city of Hérault, our colleagues at Midi Libre report.
“These are serious forms of the disease that can affect very young children, who are often poorly protected, because the first vaccine is given at two months and the booster dose at four months,” he explains in the columns of the regional newspaper Eric. Jeziorski, head of the pediatric emergency department at Montpellier University Hospital.
The doctor reminds us of the importance of the vaccine during pregnancy to prevent these dramatic cases. “Since the end of 2023, we have faced cases of whooping cough, ten times more than usual,” warns Eric Jeziorski. “Many infected people do not know it, hence the importance of vaccination.”
“It’s really coming back strong”
“We expected a resurgence of this cyclical disease, which peaks every three to five years, knowing that the last peak was in 2018. The Covid period delayed the recovery, now it is really coming back strongly, warned the National Reference Center ”. (CNR) for whooping cough in early June.
“In the first quarter, around fifteen clusters occurred, mainly in communities (daycares, 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 particularly 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.
Source: BFM TV
