Across several Canadian provinces, the old and stubborn cough known as whooping cough has returned with unusual force, as Quebec now counts more than twenty times its usual pre-pandemic toll. The illness, which begins like an ordinary cold before settling into long, exhausting spasms, is most often striking young teenagers, though its gravest danger still falls on the very youngest children. It moves in cycles that public health officials have long recognized, yet the scale of this swell reminds us how quickly a preventable sickness can gather strength when vaccination and vigilance slacken.
Whooping Cough Cases Surge Across Several Canadian Provinces Past Pre-Pandemic Levels
The illness can be serious and even life-threatening, especially for very young children; most Quebec patients are aged 10 to 14.
The 100-day cough
Across several Canadian provinces, the old and stubborn cough known as whooping cough has returned with unusual force, as Quebec now counts more than twenty times its usual pre-pandemic toll. The illness, which begins like an ordinary cold before settling into long, exhausting spasms, is most often striking young teenagers, though its gravest danger still falls on the very youngest children. It moves in cycles that public health officials have long recognized, yet the scale of this swell reminds us how quickly a preventable sickness can gather strength when vaccination and vigilance slacken.
Quebec's health ministry has now recorded more than 11,670 cases of whooping cough this year. In a typical year between 2015 and 2019, the province averaged just 562. Most of those infected are between 10 and 14 years old, and the count already towers over the 1,269 cases of its last major peak in 2019.
Ontario is seeing a climb too, on a smaller scale. By June its dashboard showed 470 cases against a five-year average of 98, with Toronto and Ottawa each running more than double their usual pre-pandemic numbers. In New Brunswick, an outbreak was declared last week, with 141 cases counted so far.
Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, described an illness that can be very serious and even life-threatening for very young children. She called it the "100-day cough," a long siege of coughing that can wear on a body for months.
The disease is highly contagious but preventable by vaccine. Officials note that it moves in cycles of two to five or six years, yet the size of the rise in some provinces is striking. Cases are climbing in the United States as well, and in July the Pan American Health Organization urged countries to strengthen surveillance and vaccination. What comes next depends on whether other provinces see similar jumps and whether New Brunswick's outbreak keeps growing.
Quebec has now recorded more than 11,670 cases of whooping cough this year. In an ordinary year between 2015 and 2019, the province averaged 562. The figure comes from the province's health ministry, which also told The Canadian Press that most of those infected are between 10 and 14 years old.
Quebec's last real peak came in 2019, when 1,269 cases were reported. This year's count is more than nine times that number, and more than twenty times the pre-pandemic annual average.
Ontario's numbers are climbing too, though on a smaller scale. As of June, the province's dashboard showed 470 cases, against a five-year average of 98. Two cities stand out: Toronto has reported 99 cases so far this year and Ottawa 76, each more than double its pre-pandemic annual average.
In New Brunswick, an outbreak was declared last week. Health officials there have counted 141 cases so far, well above the five-year average of 34 per year.
Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said last week that pertussis, the clinical name for whooping cough, is rising across the country. In an interview on Friday, she described an illness that can be very serious and even life-threatening, especially for very young children. "We call it the 100-day cough," she said, adding that it can bring a significant amount of coughing for a very long time.
The disease is highly contagious, and it is preventable by vaccine. It starts like a common cold, then over several weeks develops into coughing spells that often end in a "whoop" as the person catches their breath.
Public health officials note that whooping cough is cyclical, with activity increasing every two to five or six years. That pattern is part of the context for the current rise, though the size of the jumps in some provinces is large against the pre-pandemic baseline.
The increase is not limited to Canada. Cases have also risen in the United States and elsewhere. In July, the Pan American Health Organization issued an alert urging countries to step up their surveillance and their vaccination coverage.
What to watch next is whether other provinces report similar jumps, and whether the outbreak in New Brunswick continues to grow.
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We call it the 100-day cough.— Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer
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