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Whooping cough cases soar by 1,500% leaving two dead and health experts concerned it could be next outbreak

Whooping cough cases soar by 1,500% leaving two dead and health experts concerned it could be next outbreak

Independent15-04-2025

State and local health are seeing skyrocketing cases of whooping cough, and experts are sounding the alarm it could join the outbreak of measles in impacting thousands of Americans.
Cases of the highly contagious bacterial infection have reportedly risen by more than 1,500 percent nationwide since 2021. Cases of whopping cough have been high in measles-stricken Texas, with the Laredo Public Health Department reporting more cases there than all of last year.
'We've seen more cases of whooping cough this year in Laredo than in the past few years,' Dr. Richard Chamberlain, director of Laredo Public Health told The Laredo Morning Times. 'This isn't just happening in Laredo; other places in Texas are also seeing more cases. Right now, we're keeping a close eye on it. There's no need to panic, but it's important to stay informed and take simple steps to help keep everyone safe.'
Whooping cough is a highly contagious bacterial infection that primarily impacts babies younger than one year old and can cause serious complications, including life-threatening pauses in breathing.
Deaths from whooping cough are also on the rise, according to a recent report in ProPublica. Within the past six months, two infants have died in Louisiana – the first such deaths since 2018.
'Many babies who get whooping cough are infected by family members or caregivers who may not even know they are carrying the bacteria,' the Louisiana Office of the Surgeon General noted earlier this month. 'About half of babies younger than a year old who get whooping cough will need hospital care.'
The Gulf Coast state has seen 110 cases in 2025. Last year, state health authorities reported 154 cases for the entire year.
In North Carolina, 166 cases have been identified throughout the state so far, WITN reported, and WXYZ said there have been 520 cases in Michigan.
Across the nation, there was a sharp spike in cases last year, with the number rising markedly from 7,063 in 2023 to 35,435 in 2024. There were 10 people – the majority of whom were under one year old – who died. Single-digit deaths had been reported in the three prior years, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
'It's the highest number in more than a decade. In the few years prior to the pandemic, for example, we were seeing roughly between 15,000 and 19,000 cases. So, like in Louisiana, this rise in cases nationwide is something to keep an eye on and to be concerned about,' American Medical Association Vice President of Science, Medicine and Public Health Dr. Andrea Garcia.
There is a way to stave off whooping cough, which is also known as pertussis. The best way to prevent the contagious respiratory illness is through vaccination, although protection wanes over time.
Without the vaccine, infants younger than a year old who contract pertussis are at risk of developing pneumonia, seizures and other complications. Some babies with whooping cough may struggle to breathe – but others may experience symptoms like it's a common cold.
Experts tie recent outbreaks to populations with no or reduced protection amid declining vaccination rates.
"When you start to see these outbreaks … it tends to be as a result of that increased circulation of the microbe in the community, as well as populations with no immunity or reduced immunity that are susceptible to the infection," Dr. Lisa Morici, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Tulane University School of Medicine, told CIDRAP.
'This is not just measles,' Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious diseases doctor in New York City, told ProPublica. 'It's a bright-red warning light.'

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How RFK Jr. is quickly changing U.S. health agencies

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D-Day landings boosted by import of ‘wonder drug' to Britain, archives reveal

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With more than 825,000 followers on Instagram and a newsletter that she has said reached 200,000 subscribers, Means has a direct line into the social media feeds and inboxes of an audience interested in health, nutrition and wellness. Affiliate marketing, brand partnerships and similar business arrangements are growing more popular as social media becomes increasingly lucrative for influencers, especially among younger generations. Companies might provide a payment, free or discounted products or other benefits to the influencer in exchange for a post or a mention. But most consumers still don't realize that a personality recommending a product might make money if people click through and buy, said University of Minnesota professor Christopher Terry. 'A lot of people watch those influencers, and they take what those influencers say as gospel,' said Terry, who teaches media advertising and internet law. Even his own students don't understand that influencers might stand to benefit from sales of the products they endorse, he added. Many companies, including Amazon, have affiliate marketing programs in which people with substantial social media followings can sign up to receive a percentage of sales or some other benefit when someone clicks through and buys a product using a special individualized link or code shared by the influencer. Means has used such links to promote various products sold on Amazon. Among them are books, including the one she co-wrote, 'Good Energy'; a walking pad; soap; body oil; hair products; cardamom-flavored dental floss; organic jojoba oil; a razor set; reusable kitchen products; sunglasses; a sleep mask; a silk pillowcase; fitness and sleep trackers; protein powder and supplements. She also has shared links to products sold by other companies that included 'affiliate' or 'partner' coding, indicating she has a business relationship with the companies. The products include an AI-powered sleep system and Daily Harvest, for which she curated a 'metabolic health collection.' On a 'My Faves' page that was taken down from her website shortly after Trump picked her, Means wrote that some links 'are affiliate links and I make a small percentage if you buy something after clicking them.' It's not clear how much money Means has earned from her affiliate marketing, partnerships and other agreements. Daily Harvest did not return messages seeking comment, and Means said she could not comment on the record during the confirmation process. Disclosing conflicts Means has raised concerns that scientists, regulators and doctors are swayed by the influence of industry, oftentimes pointing to public disclosures of their connections. In January, she told the Kristin Cavallari podcast 'Let's Be Honest' that 'relationships are influential.' 'There's huge money, huge money going to fund scientists from industry,' Means said. 'We know that when industry funds papers, it does skew outcomes.' In November, on a podcast run by a beauty products brand, Primally Pure, she said it was 'insanity' to have people connected to the processed food industry involved in writing food guidelines, adding, 'We need unbiased people writing our guidelines that aren't getting their mortgage paid by a food company.' On the same podcast, she acknowledged supplement companies sponsor her newsletter, adding, 'I do understand how it's messy.' Influencers who endorse or promote products in exchange for payment or something else of value are required by the Federal Trade Commission to make a clear and conspicuous disclosure of any business, family or personal relationship. While Means did provide disclosures about newsletter sponsors, the AP found in other cases Means did not always tell her audience when she had a connection to the companies she promoted. For example, a 'Clean Personal & Home Care Product Recommendations' guide she links to from her website contains two dozen affiliate or partner links and no disclosure that she could profit from any sales. Means has said she invested in Function Health, which provides subscription-based lab testing for $500 annually. Of the more than a dozen online posts the AP found in which Means mentioned Function Health, more than half did not disclose she had any affiliation with the company. Means also listed the supplement company Zen Basil as a company for which she was an 'Investor and/or Advisor.' The AP found posts on Instagram, X and on Facebook where Means promoted its products without disclosing the relationship. Though the 'About' page on her website discloses an affiliation with both companies, that's not enough, experts said. She is required to disclose any material connection she has to a company anytime she promotes it. Representatives for Function Health did not return messages seeking comment through their website and executives' LinkedIn profiles. Zen Basil's founder, Shakira Niazi, did not answer questions about Means' business relationship with the company or her disclosures of it. She said the two had known each other for about four years and called Means' advice 'transformational,' saying her teachings reversed Niazi's prediabetes and other ailments. 'I am proud to sponsor her newsletter through my company,' Niazi said in an email. While the disclosure requirements are rarely enforced by the FTC, Means should have been informing her readers of any connections regardless of whether she was violating any laws, said Olivier Sylvain, a Fordham Law School professor who was previously a senior adviser to the FTC chair. 'What you want in a surgeon general, presumably, is someone who you trust to talk about tobacco, about social media, about caffeinated alcoholic beverages, things that present problems in public health,' Sylvain said, adding, 'Should there be any doubt about claims you make about products?' Potential conflicts pose new ethical questions Means isn't the first surgeon general nominee whose financial entanglements have raised eyebrows. Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general from 2017 to 2021, filed federal disclosure forms that showed he invested in several health technology, insurance and pharmaceutical companies before taking the job — among them Pfizer, Mylan and UnitedHealth Group. He also invested in the food and drink giant Nestle. He divested those stocks when he was confirmed for the role and pledged that he and his immediate family would not acquire financial interest in certain industries regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general twice, under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, made more than $2 million in COVID-19-related speaking and consulting fees from Carnival, Netflix, Estee Lauder and Airbnb between holding those positions. He pledged to recuse himself from matters involving those parties for a period of time. Means has not yet gone through a Senate confirmation hearing and has not yet announced the ethical commitments she will make for the role. Hund said that as influencer marketing becomes more common, it is raising more ethical questions, such as what past influencers who enter government should do to avoid the appearance of a conflict. Other administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, have also promoted companies on social media without disclosing their financial ties. 'This is like a learning moment in the evolution of our democracy,' Hund said. 'Is this a runaway train that we just have to get on and ride, or is this something that we want to go differently?'

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