Seventeen people have died of whooping cough in France since the beginning of the year.

During the previous peak in 2017, ten children died from this respiratory infection.

Whooping cough, which is on the rise in France as in many other countries, has caused the death of 14 children since the start of 2024, according to data published Friday June 28 by Public Health France (SPF). As of June 26, “A total of 17 deaths were found: among them, three adults over 85 years old (in two regions) and 14 children under 15 years old (spread over seven regions)”details the public establishment in its epidemiological report.

According to Public Health France, 12 of the 14 children who died from this respiratory infection were infants, aged one to two months. A 4-year-old child also died, while a last one, aged one month, “did not have whooping cough listed as cause of death as it stood, but had been hospitalized for whooping cough a few days before”details SPF.

After analysis of mortality data between 2015 and 2023, it appears that “the provisional number of deaths for the year 2024 already exceeds the total number of deaths reported in 2017,” the year in which the highest number of deaths among children under 15 was recorded, namely 10, the health agency said.

Whooping cough, a respiratory infection caused by bacteria, is very easily transmitted through the air, through contact with a sick person with a cough, mainly in the family or in the community. Deaths are rare, but can occur particularly in infants too young to be vaccinated (less than two months), who are more affected by severe forms. Worldwide, there are an average of 40 million cases and 300,000 deaths each year.