2023-12-22 19:12:42
Whooping cough has made a comeback in Chaudière-Appalaches in recent weeks, with around thirty cases reported. Public Health is asking the population to take this resurgence very seriously as the holidays begin.
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Whooping cough is a cyclical disease that returns once every four years, according to public health specialist at the CISSS de Chaudière-Appalaches Marie-Ève Beauregard.
“We had no cases in 2021-2022. As early as this fall, we expected there to be a resurgence this year. So it’s not surprising, but we still want to warn the population.”
She maintains that the number of reported cases are “only the tip of the iceberg”, since in the vast majority of adults and adolescents, the disease causes the same symptoms as a cold or the flu.
“When you are vaccinated against whooping cough when you are young, there are almost no severe symptoms. But it is not because we do not have complications that we are not contagious,” warns Dr. Beauregard.
Infants at risk
As Quebec enters the period of annual celebrations, the CISSS de Chaudière-Appalaches asks people who plan to meet a child under 12 months to avoid doing so if they have a bad cough.
“We never know. It is better to be careful and avoid these contacts. If we don’t have the choice of being near a baby, we can also wear a mask, because whooping cough is transmitted by droplets,” continues the specialist doctor contacted by The newspaper.
Beware of pregnant women
Marie-Ève Beauregard also says that women about to carry their pregnancies to term should take precautions.
“Let’s take a woman who catches it a few weeks or days before giving birth. Even if it has no symptoms, it is still contagious. Whooping cough for a newborn child who does not yet have any antibodies can lead to serious complications.”
To overcome this possibility, Dr. Beauregard recommends that pregnant women get vaccinated against the disease. This will allow antibodies to be passed on to their offspring before they even come into the world.
“There are still three out of ten women who do not take the vaccine in the region. It would be really important to do it this year. It is also essential to have your child vaccinated at two and four months, because it is before six months that there is the greatest chance of having complications, or even death,” she concludes.
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