Key Points

• The situation in Occitanie is part of a national and European context marked by a resurgence of pertussis at a high intensity level that has continued over the past few months, following very low circulation from 2020 to 2022 (Santé publique France, Epidemiological Bulletin in France of September 18, 2024, ECDC).

• The slight downward trend in the number of emergency department visits for suspected pertussis has continued over the past five weeks. These visits primarily involve children (those under 15 and under 1 year of age account for 73% and 29% of visits, respectively, since the beginning of 2024), with a higher hospitalization rate among those under 1 year of age (71%).

• Stabilization at a high level (between 34 and 39 cases per week) over the past three weeks in the number of suspected pertussis cases seen by the four SOS Médecins associations in the region (Montpellier, Toulouse, Nîmes, and Perpignan).

• Stability in the number of PCR-confirmed pertussis cases in July and August 2024 based on data from three laboratories (incomplete data for September) (Source: Eurofins-Biomnis and Cerba).

• Stability in the number of reports to the ARS Occitanie by healthcare professionals of isolated or clustered pertussis cases over the past 11 weeks (last week incomplete). Since early 2024, reports have involved nearly all departments.

• Vaccination coverage with the hexavalent vaccine among infants born in 2022 and aged 21 months who received 3 doses of the vaccine was over 91% in Occitanie, close to the national level (Pertussis Epidemiological Update of 06/28/2024).

• Instructions for sending specimens to laboratories are available on the website of the Pasteur Institute, National Reference Center for Pertussis and Other Bordetellosis.