Cases of a Victorian-era infant disease have surged across the US – and high schoolers are ‘super spreaders.’
Whooping cough has caused 16,000 infections so far this year, a five-fold increase from this time last year, and two deaths, according to CDC data.
The surge has been blamed on dwindling vaccination rates after the Covid pandemic — officials recommend every baby have their first shot at two months old.
Doctors in Minnesota, which recorded 100 cases last week, say that high schoolers whose vaccines have worn off and have not got their booster could be bringing the disease home to their younger siblings, fueling the outbreak.
Health officials have warned that whooping cough, which is extremely dangerous for young children and teens, is on the rise nationwide (stock image)
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The Minnesota Department of Health told local news station KSTP: ‘MN is seeing a significant burden occur in high school age children, which is consistent with when the adolescent vaccine for pertussis begins to wane.
‘With case numbers this high it is really important for individuals to make sure they are up to date on their pertussis vaccines, get tested and treated early in their cough illness, and stay home while infectious.’
The CDC recommends that babies get the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine at two, four, six, and 15-18 months old.
Children ages four to six are also recommended to receive a vaccine.
The agency states that preteens ages 11 to 12 should also be vaccinated against pertussis, and the shot is 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 are getting it.
The latest CDC data shows that in the 2021 to 2022 school year, pertussis vaccination rates among kindergarteners dropped from 95 percent the year before to 93 percent.
While that might seem a small drop, researchers warn even tiny dips in uptake allow the ultra-infectious virus to spread.
Whooping cough occurs when bacteria attaches to tiny hairs in the throat and nose and release toxins that cause airways to swell.
The above map from the Minnesota Department of Health shows the cluster where a surge of whooping cough cases are located. Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, recorded the most cases at 376
Health officials warned that the infection is initially difficult to tell apart from a cold, as the first signs are a runny nose and sore throat. But around a week later, sufferers may develop coughing bouts that last minutes, struggle to breathe after coughing and make a ‘whoop’ sound between coughs
At first, this may cause mild symptoms like a runny nose or mild cough, but it can progress to a cough so violent it leads many patients to vomit and develop breathing problems.
Dr Liz Placzek, a pediatrician and medical director at Children’s Minnesota West St Paul, told KSTP: ‘Typically it [whooping cough] starts off like a cold virus. We see snotty nose, we see cough, maybe a fever.
‘Those symptoms may improve a little bit but then we see this cough, this persistent deep cough that continues and continues.’
According to the latest CDC data, there have been 15,661 reported cases of whooping cough so far this year, compared to 3,635 at this time last year.
Prior to the introduction of the pertussis vaccine in 1948, the US saw as many as 250,000 cases of pertussis per year. Cases steadily stopped by more than 90 percent each year compared to the pre-vaccine era, the CDC states.
The lowest reported rate of whooping cough was in 1976, when the US recorded just 1,010 cases.
Polly Deehy (pictured left in the hospital) from the UK had to be placed in a 10-day coma after coming down with whooping cough. And at just one month old, Rosie Robin of the UK (pictured at right) was hospitalized for two weeks with the disease
Spike (left with his parents), a 16-year-old from the UK, contracted whooping cough at just 11 days old, when he was too young to be vaccinated. Despite a miraculous recovery as a baby (right), he was left with permanent brain damage
Minnesota has seen 1,019 cases so far this year, a nearly 17-fold increase from 2023.
According to health department data, cases are all concentrated in the southeastern part of the state.
Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, recorded the highest number of cases at 376. Wright County, directly north west of Hennepin County, had 106.
Southwest of Hennepin County, in Carver County, there have been 95 cases reported so far this year.
Dr Placzek said the rise could be due to vaccines wearing off in high schoolers who received them as children. The Tdap (tetanus, diptheria, and pertussis) vaccine lasts for 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 vaccine hesitation.
The CDC has also noted that the bacteria that causes whooping cough, Bordetella pertussis, is prone to mutations, which could make it able to evade vaccines.
