In 2024, an epidemic of whooping cough broke out again in many countries worldwide, with more than 18,500 cases recorded in the United States alone, Euronews reported.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the current number of cases in the United States is five times higher than during the same period last year. This is the highest level since 2014.
This is also occurring against the backdrop of a deteriorating situation in Europe. French health authorities report the most serious epidemic in the past 25 years.
Last month, the French Ministry of Health reported that the epidemic, ongoing since the beginning of 2024, ‘has grown stronger in recent months.’
Approximately 35,000 cases were identified using PCR tests. Due to the disease, 22 children died in France, 20 of whom were infants.
According to the Public Health Agency, the epidemic control system in France has registered more than 130,000 cases reported by general practitioners.
Whooping cough begins like a common cold, with a cough that can last for weeks. The disease is especially dangerous for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children. They may not cough but can experience breathing difficulties. Experts say that vaccination is the best method of prevention. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), vaccination during pregnancy is very effective in preventing disease and death among infants who are too young to be vaccinated.
Usually, outbreaks of whooping cough occur in cycles, every 3-5 years. The outbreak in the US indicates a “return to more typical trends” after the Covid pandemic, during which cases of whooping cough were significantly reduced, the CDC said.
According to the experts of the French Pasteur Institute, the pandemic has violated the regularity of these phases. In a report published last month, it was noted that this year there was an “unprecedented increase”.
The institute believes that this may be related to the weakening of immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They also ‘discovered a bacterial isolate’ that was resistant to first-line antibiotics and reported the need to monitor the strains of bacteria that cause whooping cough.
The report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control stated that, from 2023 until April 2024, 60,000 cases were registered in European countries, which is about ten times more than in 2021 and 2022.
According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), 13,000 cases have been registered in England since January 2024, and 10 young children have died.
At the beginning of 2024, the number of disease cases increased ‘as expected based on the usual seasonal patterns,’ the agency noted. During the June-August period, the numbers decreased but remained high compared to the years before the pandemic.
‘In 2024, confirmed cases in the second quarter were significantly higher than in any quarter in 2012 when there was a major outbreak of the disease,’ the agency added.”
