Whooping cough is back in several countries. Should we be worried about this in France?

in collaboration with

Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)

There were 1,141 cases of whooping cough detected in England and Wales throughout 2023, compared to 450 in 2022. In the United States, the states of Florida and New York are sounding the alert. Whooping cough, a respiratory infection that poses risks for young people, is far from having disappeared from the world. Can this increase in cases affect France? Is this already the case?

An infection to watch closely

For now, at the start of 2024, France seems spared from this outbreak. But vigilance is required. “We are monitoring the situation like milk on fire.” explained Professor Sylvain Brisse, director of the National Reference Center (CNR) for whooping cough to BFMTV.com on January 22.

And for good reason, whooping cough is not a benign virus for infants, in particular. The highly contagious respiratory infection caused primarily by bacteria Bordetella pertussis can cause serious pulmonary and neurological complications in infants under 6 months of age. Risks are also to be expected among frail and elderly people.

No notable “worrying increase”

At present, in France, specialists remain confident. The CNR does not note “a worrying increase”. This does not mean that there are no cases, but these would remain comparable to their 2020 level, an average of 35 infant hospitalizations over an entire year. Which remains considered a low average.

But experts point out: whooping cough is a cyclical disease, which returns every 3 to 5 years on average, as indicated by the RENACOQ network. According to him, on the data collected between 1996 and 2021, “six epidemic peaks occurred in France: in 1997, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2012-2013 and in 2017”. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a new one soon.

But a risk that remains relevant

Same vigilance from our medical director, Dr Gérald Kierzek, who cannot say that we are immune to a whooping cough boom in France.

“Whooping cough remains a very contagious infection, and very often underdiagnosed (we don’t think about it), which evolves in epidemic cycles (with periods with many cases and others not) and above all low coverage vaccination, particularly in adults. (In infants aged 6 months, the vaccine is obligatory…). Even if this is not currently the case, whooping cough could well experience another peak soon, yes.”

Vaccination, the solution to escape it

To protect themselves, specialists, including our expert, therefore advocate vaccination, the only real defense against infection.

Since 2018, this has been compulsory for infants, and several boosters (at 6 years old, between 11 and 13 years old and at 25 years old) are recommended. The figures also remind us that vaccination of pregnant women and young parents is important. SNewborns are the most affected by this disease (more than 90% of deaths from whooping cough occur in children under 6 months) and very often, it is the parents who are at the origin of the children’s infection (in more than 50% of cases).

What are the symptoms of whooping cough?

In adults, whooping cough will appear in the form of an intense cough that can last up to several weeks. According to the Ameli website, these straights result in:

• Sudden, violent and repeated bouts of coughing. They cause spasms (jerking) and breathing becomes difficult;
• A puffy, red or bluish face;
• Coughing can cause the small blood vessels around the eyes to burst. They then form like small red stars, called petechiae;
• Vomiting often occurs, especially after bouts.

At the end of the coughing fit, the patient resumes breathing with a large, long inspiration, accompanied by the emission of a high-pitched sound (called “cock crowing”). He emits clear, thick sputum with difficulty.

Whooping cough is not accompanied by fever or other respiratory signs. Between each coughing fit, the patient has no symptoms.