Whooping cough has killed 14 children in France since the beginning of the year, mainly infants. In order to best prevent this disease, Public Health France invites pregnant women to get vaccinated.
A forgotten disease that is resurfacing. Since the beginning of the year, 14 children have died from whooping cough, which is on the rise. 80 have been hospitalized. More virulent this season, this respiratory bacterial infection, highly contagious and long-lasting, according to Public Health France (SpF), particularly affects infants.
Faced with this epidemic peak, SpF called, this Friday, in its report, for increased vigilance “in the run-up to the large gatherings planned for this summer, in particular the Olympic and Paralympic Games” in Paris, especially for those most at risk (pregnant women, unprotected infants, immunocompromised people, and those suffering from chronic respiratory illnesses).
In order to protect the youngest, the public institution also insisted on the vaccination of mothers, recommended since spring 2022. This procedure can be carried out during each pregnancy. The fetus will thus benefit from “the transplacental passage of pertussis antibodies which allow the child to be protected until individual vaccination protection is obtained.”
13 of the deceased children were less than 2 months old
Before two months, newborns are in fact too young to be vaccinated. Of the 14 child deaths recorded since January, 13 were less than two months old and one died following respiratory distress induced shortly after contracting whooping cough, SpF said.
Vaccination of pregnant women therefore makes it possible, for infants under three months, “to divide the risk of whooping cough by four, to halve the number of hospitalizations and to reduce the number of deaths by 95%” linked to pertussis. disease, explained the Ministry of Health in a press release.
It should also be noted that many clusters are “intra-familial or occur in communities”. SpF has also warned of the need to be up to date on whooping cough vaccine boosters, particularly in families welcoming new members.
Public Health France has reported a sharp increase in mortality for this disease which recurs in cycles of three to five years. For the past ten years, the year with the highest number of deaths of children under 15 was 2017 with ten disappearances. Three children died in 2023.
