Top honeymoon destination is hit by highly contagious disease as 108 cases are reported
Hawaii health officials announced last week that pertussis - perhaps better known as whooping cough - is on the rise in the popular tourist hotspot at a 'worrying rate,' according to Spectrum Local News.
As of May 15, the state had already recorded 108 cases this year - surpassing last year's total cases of 84, the State of Hawaii Department of Health reported.
It called whooping cough a 'highly contagious respiratory disease' that spreads from bacteria through the air.
At first, the symptoms can resemble a cold - but they can quickly progress to 'intense coughing fits.'
In children, those fits could be followed by a 'deep breath' that makes a 'whooping sound' due to clogged airways that are not fully formed, Fox News reports.
Complications from the disease 'can be serious and even life-threatening, especially for infants and young children who are not fully vaccinated,' health officials warned.
Those complications can include pneumonia, seizures, apnea, encephalopathy (a disease of the brain) - and even possibly death.
'Pertussis is insidious and can be easily mistaken for other respiratory diseases - including viruses,' Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel warned.
He explained that whooping cough - which is a bacterial infection - can be treated with routine antibiotics but it is 'easily missed.'
'The best protection is vaccination, including repeated boosters in teens and adults,' Siegel suggested.
The DTaP (diptheria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccine is administered to children under the age of seven, while the Tdap (tetanus, diptheria and pertussis) vaccine is available for older children and adults.
Neha Pathak, WebMD chief physician editor, told Fox News that about 98 out of 100 children who get the DTaP vaccine are protected from the diseases for at least one year after a fifth dose and about 70 percent are still protected up to five years later.
She also said she suggests pregnant woman get the Tdap jab during their third trimester to pass antibodies onto their newborns who are too young to get the DTaP vaccine.
Dr. Siegel further claimed that DTaP is 'highly effective' in children with nearly 100 percent protection with appropriate dosages.
Still, multiple doses are also generally recommended for infants, children and adults.
But in Hawaii, health officials say vaccination rates 'for all routinely-recommended vaccinations for school entry - including those for measles, pertussis, polio and varicella (chicken pox)' have declined since 2019.
Its vaccination levels are now even below the national average, according to Hawaii News Now.
'The uptick in pertussis cases is concerning, but not surprising given what we are seeing with vaccine hesitancy,' Pathak said.
In fact, the rise in pertussis cases in Hawaii comes as experts warn America is poised for a measles explosion if vaccine rates continue to fall at their current pace.
The research from Stanford University estimates that just a five percent decline in coverage with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) would lead to an estimated 5.7 million measles cases and at least 2,500 deaths over the next 25 years.
That's the equivalent of 228,000 cases and 320 deaths each year.
And in a devastating scenario, a 50 percent decline in vaccinations could flood the country with the life-threatening disease, potentially leading to 51 million cases, including 10.3 million hospitalizations and between 151,200 and 164,700 deaths.
For context, the US has confirmed 5,567 measles cases over the past 25 years, averaging 223 per year. In 2019 alone, there were nearly 1,300 cases; in 2020, just 13.
If rates stay where they are, the US could lose its measles elimination status within two decades.
The US is facing its largest measles outbreak in 30 years, centered in Gaines and Lubbock counties, West Texas, where just 74 percent and 92 percent of children are vaccinated, respectively.
Texas has confirmed 728 measles cases so far, with over 400 in Gaines County alone. Two children in Texas and one in New Mexico have died. New Mexico has reported 71 cases.
Hawaii also confirmed two cases in April, but health officials since concluded there was no further spread.
Still, health officials in the Aloha State warn they are not out of the woods on that yet, either.
'Measles cases in the United States continue to rise, with more than 1,000 cases already reported across 30 states this year,' they said in the news release last week.
'The risk remains high for future travel-related measles cases reaching Hawaii and DOH recommends continued vigilance efforts to increase the MMR vaccination rate.'
It then stressed its 'strong' recommendation for children and adults to stay up-to-date on all vaccinations.
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