Whooping Cough The respiratory disease continues to circulate actively in France, with 20 child deaths since the beginning of the year. Sylvain Brisse, from the Pasteur Institute, insists on the need to vaccinate more pregnant women and infants.
With 20 child deaths recorded since the beginning of the year, whooping cough is making a resurgence in France. This respiratory disease, often with few symptoms, is sometimes characterized by an intense cough that can last for weeks. The disease can be fatal, particularly in infants under 6 months, pregnant women, the elderly and those suffering from chronic respiratory diseases. It has long been one of the leading causes of infant mortality .
80 cases of infants under twelve months old were hospitalized in the first six months of 2024, almost twice as many as in the whole of 2023, according to Public Health France. A resurgence that could be linked to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, explains Professor Sylvain Brisse, director of the National Reference Center for Whooping Cough at the Pasteur Institute, who emphasizes the importance of vaccination in pregnant women and infants.
How alarming is the whooping cough epidemic?
Since January, we have witnessed an exceptional resurgence of whooping cough. Unprecedented for several decades in France. Public Health France has recorded nearly 25,000 positive tests on the national territory,