Whooping cough continues to grow both nationally and in New York State. The Centers for Disease Control's Week 34 MMWR report shows 296 reported cases in Upstate New York and 44 in New York City. These 340 cases represent an 82% increase in cases from the same time in 2009. The source of the increase is in Upstate New York where the change from 2009 is second in the nation at an increase of 129%.
Using the population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the rate of whooping cough or pertussis cases per 100,000 population in New York for 2010 can be calculated. Statewide, 1.74 cases of whooping cough are estimated per 100,000 population. If New York City is excluded, the Upstate New York rate is 2.65 cases per 100,000 population.
Nationally, the slow reporting on the CDC site continues for both California and Massachusetts. California is reporting 2,551 more cases on its Department of Public Health website than the CDC has recorded. Massachusetts continues to rotate on a weekly basis which illnesses they report to the CDC.
Using the corrected California numbers, there have been 12,947 cases of whooping cough reported nationally. California has 3,834 cases. Texas follows with 1,664, followed by Ohio with 945 and Michigan with 717.
Seventeen states report 200 cases of pertussis or whooping cough. Twelve state are reporting between 100 and 199 cases. The remaining 21 states and the District of Columbia all have less than 100 cases.
The states that allow children to attend school without being immunized, based on a strong personal belief of the parents, continue to dominate the statistics. Ten of the seventeen states with over 200 cases of whooping cough allow a personal belief exemption. They account for 67% of all the cases nationally. The top four states in case count all allow the personal belief exemption.
9,341 cases of whooping cough have been reported through this period from the twenty states that allow the personal belief exemption. That is 72% of the national total.
Outside the 200 plus case group, Idaho stands out with an explosion of cases of whooping cough. Through August 28, it is reporting 112 cases, nearly double the total of 58 from this time in 2009.
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