WHOOPING COUGH WAVE IS THE WORST IN ALMOST A DECADE AMONG US CHILDREN, SAYS CDC

There has been a massive resurgence of whooping cough cases across the United States, which has now accelerated to the fastest pace on record in nearly a decade, according to data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also known as pertussis, whooping cough infections are again climbing around the country as the back-to-school season has started.

According to the CDC figures, a total of 291 cases have been reported since last week with New York having the maximum numbers with 44 infections. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma have also reported at least 38 cases each.

Experts say this now marks the most infections of pertussis reported to the CDC in a single week since 2015 when the country was coming off a resurgence of whooping cough cases that had peaked the year before.

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Doctors say whooping cough - caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis, is not just another familiar condition to most Americans. The US began widespread vaccinations in the 1940s - which nearly eradicated the disease. But whooping cough has been increasing here over the past two decades despite record rates of vaccination - in 2016, more than 15,000 people in the US came down with the disease, and at least seven died.

More than four times cases reported to the CDC this year

Symptoms of this condition last from weeks to months - typically with its infamous "whooping" as most affected people struggle to breathe after facing a burst of coughs.

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As of now, this year more than 14,000 cases have so far been reported to the CDC - more than four times higher than the number of infections reported by this time last year. Doctors say the cases are also higher than the more than 10,000 cases that were reported by this time in 2019 before COVID-19 pandemic measures also caused plummeting cases of pertussis and other contagious infections.

Experts call for better vaccines

Doctors say unvaccinated young children and newborns delivered by women who are also unvaccinated, remain at the highest risk of infection from whooping cough. Federal health officials have warned of a resurgence of breakthrough infections in older children and adults across the country because of this.

At present, pertussis vaccines are less effective at guarding against disease and spread, according to experts. Officials in Pennsylvania – where one of the country's largest pertussis outbreaks this year was witnessed - say that many outbreaks have been fueled by high school students.

"Cases and outbreaks have continued throughout the summer even though most schools were closed," the department said in an alert to doctors in the state this month. Officials have also warned the doctors to prepare for the possibility of a surge as schools have just resumed after summer break.

Similarly, in New York, at least 40 per cent of cases this year have been in teenagers who are 15-19 years old, according to figures shared by the state health department. "We are not seeing evidence of a specific cluster or location or event. Cases have been identified all over the state and among children and adolescents in various settings."

At present, the CDC recommends pertussis shots for children and adults - including boosters of the Tdap vaccine which contains antigens that protect against pertussis – for every 10 years. Data says around 39 per cent of adults have been given a pertussis booster in the last decade.

However, the FDA says it would discuss the trials, which could lead to vetting "new pertussis vaccines for booster vaccination of adults."

2024-09-20T02:49:34Z dg43tfdfdgfd