Quebec - Whooping cough 2023-2024

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google
Increase in cases of whooping cough in Chaudière-Appalaches

Thursday December 21, 2023 | Communicated

The Public Health Department of the Chaudière Appalaches Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS) would like to inform you that there has been a recent increase in cases of whooping cough in the region.

---

---

As the holidays and gatherings approach, be vigilant. If you have uncontrollable coughing fits or a cough followed by vomiting, pauses or difficulty breathing, or a cough that ends in a loud wheezing sound (cock crowing), you may have whooping cough.

• Avoid contact with pregnant women in the 3rd ^trimester ;
• Avoid contact with babies 1 year and under;
• Call 811 or consult a doctor if necessary.

Whooping cough is more serious in children younger than 12 months, especially babies younger than 6 months, who often need to be hospitalized because of the illness.

What to do if you think you have been in contact with a case?

• Parents of a baby under 12 months and pregnant women in their last month of pregnancy should contact 811 for an evaluation;
• For other people, who are not at risk of serious complications, there is no preventive treatment to offer. They can contact 811 if necessary for advice.

To get vaccinated?

Vaccination of children under one year of age and pregnant women between 26 and 32 weeks is the best way to protect babies against serious complications of this disease. For vaccination, make an appointment at a CLSC.

For more information on whooping cough, call 811 or visit the Department of Health and Human Services webpage This hyperlink will open in a new window..

https://www.cisssca.com/actualites/detail/article/augmentation-des-cas-de-coqueluche-en-chaudiere-appalaches

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

Increase in cases of whooping cough as the holidays approach

Recrudescence des cas de coqueluche à l’approche des Fêtes - reportage

VINCENT DESBIENS
Friday, December 22, 2023 10:54

UPDATE Friday, December 22, 2023 2:12 p.m.

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.

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 is asking 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 close to a baby, we can also wear a mask, because whooping cough is transmitted by droplets,” continues the specialist doctor contacted by Le Journal .

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.

https://www.journaldequebec.com/2023/12/22/recrudescence-des-cas-de-coqueluche-a-lapproche-des-fetes

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

Numerous cases of whooping cough detected in Sherbrooke and Magog


Radio-Canada
Published yesterday at 3:01 p.m. CST

Around ten primary and secondary schools in Sherbrooke and Magog are dealing with cases of whooping cough. A total of 52 cases were reported in the region between December 3 and January 28.

In a letter sent to parents by the Sherbrooke Region School Service Center and of which Radio-Canada obtained a copy, it is indicated that the region has experienced an increase in cases of whooping cough since last December .

The Estrie Public Health Department (DSP) wishes to make parents aware that the transmission of this contagious disease could still take place in the coming days and weeks .

In this letter, we remind you that whooping cough is a respiratory infection that is caused by bacteria and that it can last a few weeks. If, at first, the illness resembles a cold, over the weeks, coughing fits set in and they resemble “cock crowing”. These coughs may end with vomiting.

At first, it's difficult to dissociate. The children will have a runny nose, a little fever, a little cough, a common cold, but it will last over time. Sometimes for weeks or even months, there will be very characteristic coughs, like a rooster. If you type whooping cough into YouTube, you will probably see videos to hear it , points out family doctor Benoit Heppell.

Premature babies, children under six months and those who have not received their three doses of vaccine as well as pregnant women at the end of pregnancy are particularly at risk of developing serious complications.


There DSP reminds that people with a fever should stay home and that those with a cough should wear a mask. People with more severe symptoms should contact 811, and those who have been diagnosed will receive an antibiotic and be removed from school.

It is also suggested that pregnant women be vaccinated each time they become pregnant to protect their unborn baby . Simply make an appointment at clicsante.ca.

Anyone who is vaccinated can still get whooping cough, but the symptoms are often less severe.

Children who are vaccinated are less at risk of developing it. They can still develop it, but it is especially those who are not vaccinated who are more at risk than others. I think that, in these situations where we see outbreaks of preventable diseases, we need to think about vaccination if it is not done or is not up to date.
A quote from Benoit Heppell, family doctor at the CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS

Usually, in Estrie, there are around ten cases of whooping cough each year.

The Sherbrooke Region School Service Center declined Radio-Canada's interview request, referring to theDSPfrom Estrie. As of this writing, she has not responded to our request for an interview.

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2046051/maladie-direction-sante-publique-contagion

[sharon sanders]

bump this

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

Radio-Canada
Published yesterday at 12:27 p.m. CST

Some 80 cases of whooping cough have been recorded in the Estrie region since December.

This is around thirty more cases than last month, according to data provided by the CIUSSS de l'Estrie-CHUS. Between December 3 and January 28, 52 cases were recorded in the region.

They were counted in around ten primary and secondary schools in Sherbrooke and Magog.

Usually, in Estrie, there are around ten cases of whooping cough each year.

Whooping cough is a respiratory infection caused by bacteria and can last for several weeks.

https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2050335/infection-coqueluche-ecole-magog-sherbrooke