Cases of a Victorian-era childhood disease are at record levels in the US – and high school students are ‘super spreaders’.
Whooping cough has caused 16,000 infections so far this year, a fivefold increase from this time last year, and two deaths, according to CDC data.
The increase has been blamed on falling vaccination rates following the Covid pandemic – with officials recommending that every baby receives their first vaccination at two months old.
Doctors in Minnesota, which recorded 100 cases last week, say high school students whose vaccines have worn off and have not received a booster could spread the disease to their younger siblings, fueling the outbreak.
Health officials have warned that whooping cough, which is extremely dangerous to young children and teenagers, is on the rise nationwide (stock image)
The above map from the Minnesota Department of Health shows the cluster where a surge of whooping cough cases is located. Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, recorded the most cases with 376
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The Minnesota Department of Health told a local news station KSTP: ‘MN sees a significant burden occurring in high school-age children, which is consistent with the time when adolescent whooping cough vaccine begins to wane.
‘With such high case numbers, it is very important that individuals ensure they are up to date with their whooping cough vaccines, get tested and treated early in their cough illness, and stay home if they are contagious.’
The CDC recommends that babies receive the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough) vaccine at two, four, six, and 15-18 months of age.
Children aged four to six years are also recommended to receive a vaccine.
The agency says young teens ages 11 to 12 should also be vaccinated against whooping cough, with vaccination recommended every 10 years after that.
The Tdap vaccine is 98 percent effective in children within a year of their last dose. In teenagers, the vaccine is 73 percent effective in the first year and 34 percent effective four years after vaccination.
But fewer people get it.
The latest CDC data shows that in the 2021-2022 school year, whooping cough vaccination among preschoolers dropped to 93 percent from 95 percent the year before.
While that may seem like a small drop, researchers warn that even small dips in uptake allow the ultra-contagious virus to spread.
Whooping cough occurs when bacteria attach to tiny hairs in the throat and nose and release toxins that cause the airways to swell.
Initially this may cause mild symptoms, such as a runny nose or mild cough, but it can develop into a cough so severe that many patients experience vomiting and difficulty breathing.
Dr. Liz Placzek, a pediatrician and medical director at Children’s Minnesota West St Paul, told KSTP, “Normally it (whooping cough) starts out as a cold virus. We see a runny nose, we see a cough, maybe a fever.
“Those symptoms may improve a little bit, but then we see this cough, this persistent deep cough that just goes on and on and on.”
According to the latest CDC data, 15,661 cases of whooping cough have been reported so far this year, compared to 3,635 this time last year.
Before the introduction of the whooping cough vaccine in 1948, there were as many as 250,000 cases of whooping cough per year in the US. The CDC states that cases are steadily declining by more than 90 percent each year compared to the pre-vaccine era.
The lowest reported number of whooping cough cases was in 1976, when the US recorded only 1,010 cases.
Health officials warned that the infection may initially be difficult to distinguish from a cold because the first signs are a runny nose and sore throat. But about a week later, patients may experience coughing fits that last minutes, have difficulty breathing after coughing, and make a “whoop” sound between coughs.
Polly Deehy (photo left in hospital) from Great Britain had to be kept in a coma for ten days after she contracted whooping cough. And when she was just a month old, Rosie Robin from Great Britain (pictured right) was hospitalized for two weeks with the disease
Spike (left with his parents), a 16-year-old from Britain, contracted whooping cough at just 11 days old, when he was too young to be vaccinated. Despite a miraculous recovery as an infant (right), he suffered permanent brain damage
Minnesota has seen 1,019 cases so far this year, a nearly seventeenfold increase from 2023.
According to Department of Health data, the cases are all concentrated in the southeastern part of the state.
Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, recorded the highest number of cases: 376. Wright County, immediately northwest of Hennepin County, had 106 cases.
Southwest of Hennepin County, in Carver County, 95 cases have been reported so far this year.
Dr. Placzek said the increase could be due to the vaccines wearing off in high school students who received them as children. The Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough) vaccine lasts 10 years, after which the CDC recommends getting a booster.
She said, “It’s not lifelong immunity.”
More parents may also be choosing to opt out of vaccines for their children due to pandemic-era hesitancy.
The CDC has also noted that the bacteria that causes whooping cough, Bordetella pertussis, is susceptible to mutations that could allow it to evade vaccines.