Latest news with #Bordetellapertussis
Axios
2 days ago
- Health
- Axios
Louisiana on track for record whooping cough cases
Whooping cough is spreading faster in Louisiana than it has in more than a decade, and health officials warn that this year could set a record for cases. Why it matters: Adults need to take precautions to keep infants safe, doctors say, because they are most at risk for complications from the illness. The big picture: Louisiana has had 170 cases reported as of May 14, surpassing the number for the entire year of 2024, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. The current record of 214 cases was set in 2013. Threat level: Two babies have died in Louisiana since September, marking the state's first deaths from whooping cough, or pertussis, since 2018, LDH says. Since September, 42 people have been hospitalized, with about 70% of them younger than 12 months. So far this year, the pertussis case rate for infants in Louisiana is at least seven times higher than all other age groups, LDH says. Cases are increasing nationally as well. Health officials attribute some of the rise in cases to declining vaccination rates and waning immunity. What he's saying:"It is a horrible disease," says Joshua Sharfstein, a pediatrician and professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Babies really do struggle to catch their breath, and sometimes they stop breathing altogether and it's terrifying to watch." When babies are being hospitalized with whooping cough, he said it's an indicator that more adolescents and adults also have it but probably haven't been diagnosed. The babies usually get exposed because someone else in the household is coughing, he said. How it works: Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It spreads through coughing, sneezing and close contact, LDH says. Symptoms include runny nose, sneezing, intense coughing fits and post-coughing vomiting for two to three weeks. Severe cases can hinder breathing and last for months. Zoom in: Two vaccines (Tdap and DTaP) prevent serious complications, LDH says, and are available for children and adults. But protection fades over time. LDH recommends that adults get a booster shot every 10 years. Medical providers can do a nasal swab test to check if you have whooping cough. Antibiotics treat the symptoms and the spread if given early, LDH says. What to do for teens and adults: If you have a cough and are around babies, seek medical attention earlier than you would if you aren't around babies, Sharfstein encourages. Tell the doctor you live with or interact with an infant regularly, because the doctor may think differently about your cough, he said. Check your vaccine records, and get a booster if needed, he advised. For babies: "I would say a cough that doesn't look right to the parents always needs to be checked out by the doctor," Sharfstein said, especially if it is a persistent cough that's interfering with a child's ability to do normal things. He encourages parents to create a cocoon around infants by making sure everyone is vaccinated and gets tested quickly if they have a cough. Go deeper
Miami Herald
21-05-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Whooping cough cases double this year compared to 2024. Here's what to know
As schools across the country release their students and the summer season begins, one respiratory illness shows no sign of slowing down. Whooping cough, or Bordetella pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial infection that may begin similar to the common cold, but can drag on for weeks or months. From 2023 to 2024, cases of whooping cough increased more than 600%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, marking the highest case numbers since 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Data published so far this year shows the same trend, with 2025 slated to outpace the previous years. Here's what you need to know. 2025 cases double There were 259 new cases of whooping cough reported across 22 states during the week ending May 10, according to the National Notifiable Diseases: Infectious Weekly Tables published by the CDC. Two states outpaced the others, with Oklahoma reporting 60 new cases and Florida reporting 49 new cases. California and Arizona also had elevated case numbers, with both reporting 21 new cases, while Ohio stood out in the Midwest, reporting 20 new whooping cough cases, according to the data. Cases are reported by local, state and territorial health departments, and may not be exhaustive if someone doesn't seek medical treatment and receive a diagnosis, the CDC notes. The latest numbers, week 19 of the year, bring the cumulative total number of cases in 2025 to 10,771, nearly double the number from 2024. The same time period — Jan. 1 to May 10, 2024 — counted 5,707 cases, according to the CDC. The weekly table reports do not include the age of those infected. The bacteria that causes whooping cough spreads person-to-person through the air, specifically through coughs and sneezes, the CDC says. Infected people can spread the bacteria for weeks after they start coughing, and many with mild symptoms can spread the infection without ever knowing they have whooping cough. 'Many babies who get whooping cough are infected by older siblings, parents or caregivers who don't know they have it,' the CDC says. What's to blame for case spike? Vaccination against whooping cough is part of the regular vaccine regimen for children, and vaccines are available for teens, pregnant women and adults who were never vaccinated. However, a report published at the end of 2024 found that the rise in cases may stem from misinformation and lack of information about the whooping cough vaccine, including many parents who may not know pertussis and whooping cough are the same thing. A survey found 30% of American adults were unsure whether a vaccine existed, despite the shot becoming available for the first time in the 1940s, McClatchy News previously reported. Other vaccine-preventable illnesses, from measles to polio, could make significant comebacks with changes to American vaccine policy, KFF Health News and NPR reported.
CTV News
05-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Whooping cough outbreak declared over in New Brunswick
This 2016 illustration based on electron microscope imagery and provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention depicts Bordetella pertussis bacteria, which causes whooping cough. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Meredith Newlove, CDC via AP)
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Whooping cough cases on the rise in Louisiana
(Canva) Louisiana is seeing a surge in whooping cough cases, particularly among children, according to state health officials. The Louisiana Department of Health identified 164 cases of pertussis, known commonly as whooping cough, in the first four months of 2025. The numbers are on track to break record highs. In comparison, the state had a total of 153 cases last year. The significant spread of whooping cough is causing increased hospitalizations and deaths. Since September, 40 people in Louisiana have been hospitalized with the illness, and 70% of those hospitalizations involve children younger than 1. Two of those infants have died, marking the first two whooping cough deaths in Louisiana since 2018, according to LDH. Belief in false measles claims correlates with lower vaccination rates, poll finds Whooping cough is a naturally occurring disease in the U.S.. It is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. People with pertussis commonly have severe coughing fits, causing them to take deep breaths that make a 'whooping' sound. The disease spreads from person to person through coughing, sneezing and close contact. Infected people can spread the bacteria from the start of symptoms up to three weeks after coughing begins. Infants are most affected by whooping cough, showing the highest reported rates of infection and the greatest likelihood of severe complications and death. Bacteria that cause whooping cough are often unknowingly spread to infants by close family or caregivers. Health authorities say the best way to avoid illness from whooping cough is through vaccination. The vaccines are effective, but protection fades over time, the health department said. Infants over 2 months of age can receive the pertussis vaccine, and mothers can receive it during pregnancy to protect their newborns. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pasadena resident tests positive for whooping cough after visiting children's museum
A Pasadena resident has tested positive for whooping cough, a highly contagious respiratory illness that can be lethal in infants, after visiting the Kidspace Children's Museum last week, authorities said. The Pasadena Public Health Department announced the infection on Thursday as whooping cough cases continue to rise across the United States. There have been more than 8,470 cases reported nationally in 2025, which is about double the cases reported in the same time period last year, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more: Highly contagious whooping cough rises in California to highest level in years Health officials warned anyone who visited Kidspace from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on April 25 to monitor their household, and especially children, for symptoms such as a runny nose, a low-grade fever and difficulty breathing. Anyone feeling ill after visiting the museum during this window is urged to visit their healthcare provider and avoid contact with babies and pregnant women. Infections can be confirmed with a nasal swab. High-risk individuals, such as infants younger than 1 and pregnant women, may need preventive antibiotics even if they are not showing symptoms, health officials said. Whooping cough is caused by a type of bacteria called Bordetella pertussis, which attack the upper respiratory system and can cause airways to swell, according to the CDC. Symptoms typically begin five days to three weeks after exposure with a mild cold and a fever of less than 100.4 degrees. In severe cases, symptoms will progress to coughing fits that cause gasping or whooping sounds and vomiting. Infants may not display the telltale whooping cough, but turn blue, red or gag due to difficulty breathing. California whooping cough cases more than quadrupled last year — from 644 in 2023 to 2,753 in 2024, according to the state health department. In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana and a 5-year-old in Washington have died from the illness. Read more: Measles exposure at LAX amid growing cases across U.S. How to protect yourself There are vaccines for whooping cough. As early as 2 months old, babies get the first in a series of DTaP shots, which also protects against diphtheria and tetanus. The vaccine is administered again at 4 months, 6 months and then again at 15 to 18 months and when the child is between 4 and 6 years old. The vaccine series is part of school-entry immunization requirements in all 50 states, and a booster shot is recommended for pregnant women. Experts attribute the uptick in infections to decreasing vaccination rates. Last year, the share of children with exemptions to school-entry vaccinations across the country hit an all-time high of 3.3%, according to the CDC. 'There's unfortunately been increasing anti-vaccine sentiment in the United States,' Dr. Ericka Hayes, who works at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told the Associated Press. 'Our recovery is not nearly as quick as we expected it to be and we needed it to be. And again, when you fall below 95% for vaccinations, you lose that herd immunity protection.' The Associated Press contributed to this report. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
