.jpg)
With some unusual break-outs in eastern provinces, Dr. David Torr at the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) talked about pertussis, also known as whooping cough or the 100-day cough, and whether the respiratory illness poses any risk in Saskatchewan.
“I’m one of the Medical Health Officers working under the Department of Public Health and Preventative Medicine,” Torr explained. “I’m also the Area Department Lead for ... the integrated rural area, that’s the south area of Saskatchewan.”
Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick are reporting higher-than-typical cases of pertussis, and Dr. Torr said that reflects some of the infection’s natural variation — but much more influential is the recent downturn in vaccination rates.
“Whooping cough does have its cycles, right? So, there’s times when we see less of the infection and then after some years, you start seeing it escalating again. And in the eastern part of the country, suddenly they’re seeing more and more cases of pertussis,” he explained.
“But also, after COVID, a lot of folks fell behind on their immunizations, especially for their children. And that has also had its impact. And we face a somewhat similar situation here, but we’ve been working very hard to improve our immunization rates and encouraging parents to catch up.”
Torr noted that diseases like measles, which is easily spread and can have severe effects on health (including death), is also “exploding” across the world — as a direct effect of lowered vaccination rates.
“Because of good vaccination rates in the past, not many people know how bad pertussis can be. It’s quite bad if you have no vaccination against it,” he said. “Not only can it be fatal, but when you go through it, it’s not one week, it’s not two weeks — it’s usually a month or two months of extreme coughing, exhaustive coughing.
“Actually, many patients who die, die from exhaustion. ... And that’s why it’s called whooping cough, because you cough so much you’re totally out of breath, and you have to pull in for your breath.”
It also matters that unlike the measles vaccine, which is extremely effective for life with just a single dose, the pertussis vaccine does need regular boosters to continue being as effective as possible.
However, even a little vaccination is much better than no vaccination at all, Torr said.
“It’s very effective, it helps a lot and even if you did get pertussis, when you’ve been vaccinated or are up to date with your vaccine, you will get much, much milder symptoms.”
Any population with low vaccination rates can see an endemic spread of whooping cough, Torr explained, no matter how healthy people in that area are otherwise. It is very easily spread, particularly in communal settings such as schools, sports activities, or assisted living facilities.
“Touch wood, we have not had any outbreaks. We’re not seeing cases as severe as in some of the other provinces, but that could easily change, especially as we’re going back into school, right?
“Let’s keep it low, or at zero, by making sure our kids are up to date with their immunizations, and adults, too.”
Learn more at saskatchewan.ca/residents/health/diseases-and-conditions/pertussis-whooping-cough.