Canada has announced a concerning rise in whooping cough cases, with health officials in some provinces reporting significant increases in the number of infections compared to pre-COVID-19 rates.

More than 11,670 cases have been reported in Quebec since the beginning of this year, a substantial increase compared to the annual average of 562 cases during the years 2015 and 2019.

Health officials indicated that the majority of whooping cough cases in Quebec are among individuals aged 10 to 14, as stated by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Health in the province.

The last increase in whooping cough activity in Quebec was in 2019, when 1,269 cases of the disease were reported, according to reports from the provincial government.

Ontario recorded 470 cases of whooping cough this year up to June, compared to about 98 cases during the same period in the five-year span from 2015 to 2019.

In Toronto, 99 cases have been recorded since the beginning of this year, while Ottawa saw 76 cases, which is more than double the annual rates before the pandemic in both cities.

The announcement of these figures came during a whooping cough outbreak last week in New Brunswick, eastern Canada, where 141 cases have been reported so far, significantly exceeding the annual average of 34 cases over the mentioned five years.

Whooping cough infections are on the rise across Canada, according to Dr. Theresa Tam, the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, who spoke last week.

It is worth noting that Dr. Tam warned in an interview last Friday that whooping cough can be very serious, especially for young children.