(Montreal) More than 900 cases of whooping cough have been reported across Quebec since the start of 2024, including some 200 cases in recent weeks. The Estrie and Chaudière-Appalaches regions are by far the most affected.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious disease whose main symptoms are severe coughing fits, low-grade fever, runny nose and redness of the eyes accompanied by watery eyes.
Ear infections and pneumonia are possible complications of whooping cough, and the risks are more common in babies under one year of age. As of April 30, 19 confirmed cases and three probable cases have occurred in children under one year of age in Quebec.
On the Quebec government website, it is specified that children under 3 months suffer from the most serious complications. They represent almost half of hospitalizations and the majority of admissions to intensive care and almost all of the deaths due to whooping cough (deaths, however, remain rare).
In an email sent to The Canadian Press, the Ministry of Health indicated that whooping cough is a cyclical endemic disease which experiences peaks of activity every two to five years. The last peak of activity in Quebec dates back to 2019 when 1,269 cases were declared.
Health measures linked to the COVID-19 pandemic had the effect of significantly reducing the incidence of whooping cough between 2020 and 2021. The lifting of restrictions in 2022 encouraged social contacts. The ministry therefore anticipates a resurgence of the disease.
In the Chaudière-Appalaches and Estrie regions, the incidence rates are in excess compared to the same period in 2023 and for pre-pandemic years.
Since the start of 2024, 469 cases have been declared in Estrie, including 53 cases for the first two weeks of May. For the Chaudière-Appalaches region, 182 cases have been declared since the start of the year, including 84 cases from April 28 to May 11.
Montérégie has recorded 50 cases since the start of the year; the Laurentians 41 cases; Bas-Saint-Laurent 42 cases; Capitale-Nationale 43 cases and Lanaudière 20 cases. These regions all experienced around ten new cases in 14 days at the beginning of May.
Vaccination is the best way to protect against whooping cough, says the provincial government. The whooping cough vaccine can be given from the age of 2 months and is a combination vaccine.
Pregnant women can also receive the vaccine. Babies under 3 months of age are most vulnerable to serious pertussis infections and are much less vulnerable if the mother was vaccinated during pregnancy.
According to the Government of Canada, pertussis vaccination coverage should reach 95% to establish herd immunity. In 2021, in Quebec, vaccination coverage among the population aged 2 and under was 89%, according to the most recent data from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ).
For the moment, the Ministry of Health does not plan to carry out a large-scale vaccination campaign against whooping cough in schools.
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