2024-08-27 23:21:28
Pertussis cases are increasing in Canada, with some provinces reporting significant increases compared to pre-pandemic averages.
Quebec has reported more than 11,670 cases so far this year, a significant increase from the annual average of 562 between 2015 and 2019. . National public health director Dr Luc Boileau described July’s situation as “rare” and “needs to be taken seriously”.
A spokesman for Quebec’s health ministry said in an email to The Canadian Press that most whooping cough patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
The government reported that the province’s last peak in pertussis activity was in 2019, when 1,269 cases were reported.
According to the provincial dashboard, Ontario recorded 470 cases of whooping cough in June, compared to the five-year average of 98 cases. Toronto has reported 99 cases so far this year, while Ottawa has reported 76, more than double the pre-pandemic annual average for those cities.
The numbers come after New Brunswick reported a whooping cough outbreak last week, with the state reporting 141 cases so far, exceeding the five-year average of 34 cases per year.
avoidable and potentially serious
Dr. Theresa Tam, director of the Public Health Agency of Canada, said last week that whooping cough is a highly contagious and vaccine-preventable disease that is on the rise across Canada.
Dr. Tam warned in an interview on Friday that the disease can be very serious and even fatal, especially in young children.
“We call it the 100-day cough,” she said. It causes a prolonged, severe cough. »
According to public health officials, whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
“It looks like we’re in one of those cyclical growth periods right now,” said Dr. Allison Criss, associate medical officer of health with Toronto Public Health.
This is a persistent cough that begins with cold-like symptoms and gradually develops over several weeks, including The cough usually ends with a characteristic sound as the infected person takes a breath.
New Brunswick’s acting chief medical health officer says the province has not had a whooping cough outbreak in more than a decade.
“I guess you could say we were definitely overdue for the increase in cases,” Dr. Yves Léger said in an interview Tuesday.
He predicts that the current number of cases will first increase and then decrease, given the increasing public awareness of the outbreak in the province.
The vaccine that protects children against whooping cough is part of Canada’s routine immunization program, which begins at two months of age. The initial vaccination requires four doses, followed by booster vaccines during childhood and adolescence.
A dose of acellular pertussis vaccine is also recommended for adults and during pregnancy.
Dr. Chris said the decline in routine immunization coverage since the COVID-19 pandemic may indicate that immunity to whooping cough is waning.
Dr. Anna Banerji, a pediatric infectious disease specialist in Toronto, said in an interview that hesitancy about getting the COVID vaccine observed during the pandemic may also be affecting routine vaccinations.
Another challenge is that “even in fully vaccinated people, immunity wanes after a while,” Dr. Banerjee explained in an interview on Tuesday.
Pertussis cases have also increased in the United States and elsewhere, prompting the Pan American Health Organization to issue an alert in July, encouraging countries to increase surveillance and vaccination coverage.
With information provided by Le Devoir and Nicole Ireland (The Canadian Press) in Toronto
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