An alarming increase in the incidence of pertussis has been recorded in a number of countries around the world. In some regions of Europe, the number of pertussis cases has reached record levels. Experts see this as normalization after the pandemic.
Transmits UNN with reference to rmf24 and Radio Canada.
In the first half of January, a significant increase in pertussis cases was reported in Poland and Germany. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is currently counting more cases than at any time since the introduction of mandatory reporting in 2013. This includes 24,000 cases already counted .
The increase is particularly evident in North Rhine-Westphalia: in 2024, almost 4000 cases of pertussis infection were reported, but the number of cases increased almost tenfold compared to the previous year, as announced by the State Health Center.
For comparison, before the pandemic, the numbers fell from 3,418 cases in 2017 to 2,284 in 2018 and 1,730 in 2019.
The increase was sudden, but it means that the number of cases will return to normal after the pandemic ends, the German Public Health Center emphasizes .
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Pertussis, also called whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory infection that is usually accompanied by painful coughing fits and is long-lasting.
Whooping cough is dangerous - sometimes even life-threatening - especially for babies under six months of age. Older people who have not been vaccinated for some time can also get seriously ill.
In Poland , more than 1.2 thousand cases of pertussis and more than 3.6 thousand RSV infections were reported in the first half of January. This is a significant increase compared to the same period last year, notes Dr. Pawel Grzesewski, Chief Medical Officer . The expert emphasizes the high activity of these infections at the beginning of the year.
A sharp increase in pertussis cases was also recorded in Canada, in the province of Quebec.
By email, the Regional Integrated University Center for Health and Social Services (CIUSSS) confirms that 1,081 cases were reported last year, compared to only two cases reported between 2021 and 2023.
Betala Belinga, a doctor specializing in public health at the CIUSJean-François, noted that this is a significant increase, but the rise in the number of cases is relatively normal and follows a cycle.
We have to understand that infections like pertussis, like other infections, develop in cycles, so we shouldn't look at the year, we should look at the period of the cycle. In the case of pertussis, we are talking about a cycle that can last five years