Since the pandemic, infectious epidemics are increasing in France and throughout the world. Bronchiolitis, Covid 19Influenza, and today Whooping Cough, their symptoms are quite similar. For Whooping Cough, its cough has a specificity. “It is not accompanied by fever or other respiratory signs. Between each coughing fit, the patient has no symptoms.“, explains Health Insurance on their website.
“There are still some reassuring things. When you have whooping cough in the classic way with the big quints coughs that last a long time, it is very inconvenient, but it is something that leads rarely serious complications“, explains to Radio Canada, Dr. Jean-François Lefebvre, family doctor and public health consultant for the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands.
Covid 19, for its part, presents symptoms similar to any type of respiratory infection: fever, chills, sore throat, new and persistent coughshortness of breath, hoarse voice, muscle pain and heaviness in the arms or legs, severe fatigue, runny nose, stuffy nose, headaches …
In both pathologies, the most fragile people such as the elderly, or people suffering from chronic diseases are the most vulnerable. Thus, barrier gestures remain relevant today. Regular hand washing, even more so after blowing your nose, wearing a mask in enclosed spaces in case of flu symptoms must remain a habit.
Two highly contagious pathologies
These two viruses are extremely contagiousAccording to the Pasteur Institute, an infected person transmits whooping cough to an average of 15 other people. Contamination occurs through the air through direct contact with infected people. In regions such as France where children have been vaccinated for decades, transmission is now mainly from adults or adolescents to infants. A very fragile populationin whom the disease can easily progress to respiratory failure which can become fatal for the child.
The importance of vaccination for the most vulnerable
Hence the importance of adult vaccination at the birth of a toddler. As a reminder, vaccination against whooping cough is mandatory for infants since January 1, 2018 and recommended in children born before this date with an injection at two months and one at four months, a booster at 11 months, a booster at the age of six, then a booster between 11 and 13 years.
Depending on age, vaccination against whooping cough can be associated with that against diphtheriatetanus, poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis, hepatitis B. A reminder at the age of 25 is planned. For adults who did not receive the booster at age 25, a catch-up may be offered up to the age of 39 years, specifies Health Insurance on their website.
Infectious diseases on the rise
A question has been asked many times: has the Covid 19 pandemic made population more vulnerable to infectious diseases ? “There is no data that allows us to say precisely that all these resurgences are the direct consequences of Covid and barrier measures”, explains to the Journal le Monde, Brigitte Autran, immunologist and president of the committee for monitoring and anticipation of health risks (Covars).
Wearing a mask is surely one of the answers to this question. For two and a half years, the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 was partly blocked by this simple barrier gesture. But, with it, many respiratory viruses were also slowed down such as Whooping Cough, Measles and Bronchiolitis which are for all three highly contagious diseases. A viral circulation that resumed its habits when the masks fell.
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