In Normandy, two babies aged just one month recently died of whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory infection, at the Rouen University Hospital.
- Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory infection that is transmitted through the air and causes coughing fits.
- At the Rouen University Hospital, it caused the death of two babies, barely a month old, one a month ago, the second last week.
- The best way to protect yourself from this disease is to get vaccinated.
It has been actively circulating in France since the beginning of 2024. Whooping cough, a bacterial infection mainly caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria, is wreaking havoc in the country, particularly in Normandy. A month ago, a one-month-old newborn died from this disease, which is more contagious than chickenpox and as contagious as measles, at Rouen hospital. Last week, another baby of the same age also died in the health facility. “There is currently one new case of whooping cough arriving in the pediatric emergency room every day, which is very unusual. A young child is currently hospitalized,” reported the communication from the Rouen University Hospital to France 3 Normandy.
Whooping cough: 49 people tested positive in Rouen since the start of the year
In the country, emergency room visits for this pathology, which is easily transmitted through the air and causes coughing fits that can be “fatal for the newborn”, have continued to increase. According to data from Public Health France, 91 visits were recorded in June 2024, compared to one visit in 2023. The latter concern 72.5% of people under 15 years old. In Rouen, 49 patients have tested positive since the beginning of the year, whereas usually, there are only one or two per year, according to France Blue.
“Altruistic vaccination” against whooping cough
To slow the epidemic and protect yourself from whooping cough, you should get vaccinated. “It’s an altruistic vaccination,” said, to France BlueMatthieu Côme, head of the pediatric emergency department at Rouen University Hospital. As a reminder, it has been mandatory for infants since January 1, 2018, and recommended for children born before this date with an injection at two months and one at four months, a booster at 11 months, a booster at the age of 6, then a booster between 11 and 13 years. Vaccination against whooping cough is also recommended for pregnant women from the second trimester of pregnancy, favoring the period between 20 and 36 weeks of amenorrhea.
Wearing a mask, “individual and collective protection”
Another essential measure: wearing a mask. “For people with symptoms of a respiratory tract infection (cold, sore throat, cough, fever) and whatever the cause, wearing a mask remains essential, particularly in the presence of vulnerable people, in health and medico-social establishments, in enclosed spaces and on public transport. Indeed, it constitutes individual protection against infection and the risk of developing a serious form, but also collective protection, reducing the risk of spread within the population and infection of people at risk of serious forms.”precise Public Health France.
