11-03-2025
Allegheny County whooping cough cases rose to high levels in 2024
Cases of Pertussis, or whooping cough, spiked on the state and national level last year, and Allegheny County's newly released data shows the county was hit hard.
According to preliminary data posted on the health department's updated infectious disease dashboard, Allegheny County saw 338 whooping cough cases in 2024, a more than 47,000% spike from 2023, which only had 7 cases.
"With whooping cough, we tend to see cyclical increases. And so, we're seeing a bit of a return to pre-pandemic rates," said Dr. Barbara Nightingale, Deputy Director for Clinical Services at the Allegheny County Health Department.
Dr. Nightingale said they're seeing good rates of vaccinations overall, but protection from the pertussis vaccine does dwindle over time.
"There do tend to be years where you see higher rates of it related to immunity that decreases over time," she said.
Whooping cough is characterized by violent or prolonged coughing, and it's really contagious.
"It's definitely something we should take seriously. It can cause very severe complications if you do get infected with it. We see particularly in young babies, it can be very dangerous, causing hospitalizations and even causing babies to get complications that they can die from," Nightingale said.
She said the challenge with this bacterial infection is that it looks the same as many common viruses at first.
"In the first few weeks of having it, you may not recognize that your child has it or that you as an adult have it. Really one of the distinguishing features is that it lasts a lot longer. So if you have a cough that's lasting for more than two weeks, that would be a sign that you need to see a healthcare provider," Nightingale said.
Allegheny County is still seeing whooping cough cases, but they are dropping.
Eighteen cases have been reported in the county so far in 2025.
"The most important thing you can do is get vaccinated to help prevent getting whooping cough to begin with. So, children should be following their healthcare provider's recommendation for getting them. There are multiple series that you need to get. As well as pregnant people can get the vaccine and I highly encourage it to help prevent whooping cough in their baby because they won't have immunity to it yet," said Dr. Nightingale.
The Pennsylvania Health Department said 2,735 pertussis cases were reported in the state last year, while there were 402 cases in 2023. And so far, this year, 153 cases have been reported in Pennsylvania. The number of cases is provisional, meaning they can still be updated.
