CDC
The whooping cough outbreak in California continues to capture the news, but other areas are also having smaller but no less important outbreaks. Upstate New York, Arizona and South Carolina all have reported, through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) July 3 numbers that are 50% or more above the number of cases last year at the same time.
South Carolina has reported 164 cases of whooping cough in 2010, up from 102 in 2009 at this time. Arizona has 192 reported cases of pertussis, up from 101.
Upstate New York reports 174 cases of whooping cough in 2010, including 27 in the week ending July 3. That is up from 91 at this time in 2009.
California has publicly reported at least 910 cases of pertussis. The CDC has confirmed to us that nearly 300 of those cases have not yet been reported to the CDC and are not included in the data published through July 3.
Other states also are reporting high case counts for this illness. Texas has the most cases of whooping cough in the nation, with 1,284 reported. Ohio is third, after California, having reported 579 cases of pertussis in 2010 and Michigan is fourth with 426 cases. These states are reporting increases from 2009 that are less than 150% of last year. Texas, as an example, reported 1,106 cases of pertussis last year through July 3, a 116% increase over 2009.
All of the states discussed have had increases in reported cases of whooping cough from 2009 to 2010, and have had over 100 cases reported in 2010. The four states with increases of 150% or more over last year represent 23% of the national total. The ten states with 100 cases of whooping cough or more reported in 2010 and increases over their 2009 case numbers represent 66% of the national total.
The CDC reminds adults of these facts:
There is high vaccine coverage for children nationwide. However, protection from the childhood vaccine fades over time. Adolescents and adults need to be revaccinated, even if they were completely vaccinated as children.
Also, pertussis vaccines are very effective but not 100% effective. If pertussis is circulating in the community, there is still a chance that a fully vaccinated person can catch this very contagious disease.
The illness is especially dangerous for infants. They may not have received their immunization or their immunity may not have reached full strength. The CDC has this to say about the risk to infants:
Infants under the age of 12 months have more serious illness from pertussis and they are more likely to have complications and be hospitalized than persons in other age groups. In the 1990s, about two thirds of infants reported with pertussis were hospitalized. Infants are more likely to have pneumonia or convulsions. Infants also are at greatest risk of fatal pertussis. In recent years, 8 to 40 infant deaths from pertussis are reported to CDC annually.
One of the best ways to protect infants from whooping cough is for the rest of the family, including adults, to be up to date on their pertussis immunizations. It is suggested by the CDC that adults receive a pertussis booster every ten years just as they do with tetanus.
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