Whooping cough cases surge in US, Europe post-COVID pandemic

There has been a resurgence of whooping cough in multiple countries in 2024, with the US reporting more than 18,500 cases since the beginning of the year.

The number of US cases of the highly contagious infection, also known as pertussis, is nearly five times higher than at this time last year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

It also marks the highest caseload at this point of the year since 2014, according to CDC data.

It comes amid a resurgence in Europe as well, with French health authorities reporting the worst epidemic in 25 years.

Public Health France reported last month that there was an ongoing epidemic in the country since early 2024 "with a very significant circulation of the bacteria which has intensified in recent months".

There have been nearly 35,000 confirmed laboratory cases of whooping cough by PCR test and pertussis has killed 22 children in France this year, including 20 babies under the age of one.

A surveillance system in France put the number of cases seen by general practitioners at more than 130,000, according to the public health agency.

While pertussis can start with common cold symptoms, the illness used to be called the "100-day cough," because it can cause a cough that lasts for weeks.

The illness is particularly dangerous for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated infants. Babies may not cough due to pertussis but rather have difficulty breathing or turn blue.

Experts say the best way to prevent pertussis is through vaccination, and according to the European Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), immunisation during pregnancy "is highly effective in preventing disease and death amongst newborns that are still too young to be vaccinated".

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