MILWAUKEE — Whooping cough is at its highest level in a decade for this time of year, U.S. health officials reported.
There have been 18,506 cases of whooping cough reported so far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That's the most at this point in the year since 2014, when cases topped 21,800.
The increase is not unexpected — whooping cough peaks every three to five years, health experts said. The numbers released Thursday indicate a return to levels before the COVID-19 pandemic, when whooping cough and other contagious illnesses plummeted.
This 2016 illustration, based on electron microscope imagery, depicts Bordetella pertussis bacteria, which causes whooping cough.
Meredith Newlove, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Still, the tally has some state health officials concerned, including those in Wisconsin, where there were about 1,000 cases so far this year, compared to a total of 51 last year.
Nationwide, CDC reported that kindergarten vaccination rates dipped last year and . On Thursday, it released state figures showing that about 86% of kindergartners in Wisconsin got the whooping cough vaccine, compared to more than 92% nationally.
Whooping cough, also called pertussis, usually starts out like a cold, with a runny nose and other common symptoms, before turning into a prolonged cough. It is treated with antibiotics.
Whooping cough used to be very common until a vaccine was introduced in the 1950s, which is now part of routine childhood vaccinations. It is in a shot along with tetanus and diphtheria vaccines. The combo shot is recommended for adults every 10 years.
Listen now and subscribe: | | | | |
"They used to call it the 100-day cough because it literally lasts for 100 days," said Joyce Knestrick, a family nurse practitioner in Wheeling, West Virginia.
Whooping cough is usually seen mostly in infants and young children, who can develop serious complications. That's why the vaccine is recommended during pregnancy, to pass along protection to the newborn, and for those who spend a lot of time with infants.
Public health workers say outbreaks this year are hitting older kids and teens.
In Pennsylvania, most outbreaks were in middle school, high school and college settings, an official said. Nearly all the cases in Douglas County, Nebraska, are among schoolkids and teens, said Justin Frederick, deputy director of the health department.
That includes his own teenage daughter.
"It's a horrible disease. She still wakes up — after being treated with her antibiotics — in a panic because she's coughing so much she can't breathe," he said.
It's important to get tested and treated with antibiotics early, said Dr. Kris Bryant, who specializes in pediatric infectious diseases at Norton Children's in Louisville, Kentucky. People exposed to the bacteria also can take antibiotics to stop the spread.
"Pertussis is worth preventing," Bryant said. "The good news is that we have safe and effective vaccines."
How the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic hit states across America
California
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 17.1% (9,675 deaths)
--- 40.4 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 8.5% (3,938 deaths)
--- 16.4 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 4.6% (2,185 deaths)
--- 9.1 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
Colorado
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 23.5% (4,126 deaths)
--- 45.0 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 10.0% (1,205 deaths)
--- 13.1 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 7.6% (1,049 deaths)
--- 11.4 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
Connecticut
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 20.6% (5,604 deaths)
--- 21.6 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 6.8% (1,234 deaths)
--- 4.8 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 4.9% (918 deaths)
--- 3.5 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
Illinois
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 15.1% (15,169 deaths)
--- Mortality data before 1918 not available
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 6.7% (5,195 deaths)
--- Mortality data before 1918 not available
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 6.3% (5,192 deaths)
--- Mortality data before 1918 not available
Stacker
Indiana
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 12.1% (5,553 deaths)
--- 10.7 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 8.2% (3,025 deaths)
--- 5.8 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 5.8% (2,295 deaths)
--- 4.4 times the 1910-1917 average
You may also like:
Stacker
Kansas
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 16.3% (4,073 deaths)
--- 8.6 times the 1914-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 9.3% (1,784 deaths)
--- 3.8 times the 1914-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 7.3% (1,473 deaths)
--- 3.1 times the 1914-1917 average
Stacker
Kentucky
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 18.1% (7,149 deaths)
--- 14.0 times the 1911-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 12.6% (3,862 deaths)
--- 7.6 times the 1911-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 6.4% (1,838 deaths)
--- 3.6 times the 1911-1917 average
Stacker
Louisiana
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 16.5% (5,312 deaths)
--- Mortality data before 1918 not available
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 9.3% (2,141 deaths)
--- Mortality data before 1918 not available
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 4.2% (916 deaths)
--- Mortality data before 1918 not available
Stacker
Maine
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 17.3% (2,513 deaths)
--- 13.7 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 7.2% (807 deaths)
--- 4.4 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 5.0% (591 deaths)
--- 3.2 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
Maryland
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 13.8% (4,437 deaths)
--- 20.7 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 5.6% (1,232 deaths)
--- 5.8 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 3.2% (691 deaths)
--- 3.2 times the 1910-1917 average
You may also like:
Stacker
Massachusetts
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 16.2% (12,494 deaths)
--- 32.9 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 5.4% (2,830 deaths)
--- 7.5 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 3.0% (1,584 deaths)
--- 4.2 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
Michigan
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 12.0% (6,382 deaths)
--- 13.1 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 6.6% (3,024 deaths)
--- 6.2 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 5.9% (3,018 deaths)
--- 6.2 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
Minnesota
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 18.4% (5,720 deaths)
--- 30.2 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 8.5% (2,106 deaths)
--- 11.1 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 6.5% (1,677 deaths)
--- 8.9 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
Missouri
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 13.2% (7,025 deaths)
--- 9.8 times the 1911-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 6.6% (2,633 deaths)
--- 3.7 times the 1911-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 7.8% (3,310 deaths)
--- 4.6 times the 1911-1917 average
Stacker
Montana
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 29.5% (2,654 deaths)
--- 84.9 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 11.9% (687 deaths)
--- 22.0 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 5.7% (304 deaths)
--- 9.7 times the 1910-1917 average
You may also like:
Stacker
New Hampshire
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 20.9% (1,999 deaths)
--- 19.0 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 7.6% (493 deaths)
--- 4.7 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 4.5% (303 deaths)
--- 2.9 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
New Jersey
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 13.7% (8,377 deaths)
--- 25.1 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 5.2% (2,117 deaths)
--- 6.3 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 2.9% (1,202 deaths)
--- 3.6 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
New York
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 11.5% (21,903 deaths)
--- 17.6 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 4.9% (6,944 deaths)
--- 5.6 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 3.3% (4,719 deaths)
--- 3.8 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
North Carolina
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 18.8% (7,948 deaths)
--- 40.7 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 12.3% (3,802 deaths)
--- 19.4 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 9.2% (2,995 deaths)
--- 15.3 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
Ohio
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 14.7% (13,542 deaths)
--- 14.8 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 7.8% (5,668 deaths)
--- 6.2 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 5.1% (3,808 deaths)
--- 4.2 times the 1910-1917 average
You may also like:
Stacker
Oregon
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 16.2% (1,564 deaths)
--- Mortality data before 1918 not available
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 9.5% (849 deaths)
--- Mortality data before 1918 not available
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 5.2% (481 deaths)
--- Mortality data before 1918 not available
Stacker
Pennsylvania
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 20.9% (39,301 deaths)
--- 30.1 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 5.9% (6,878 deaths)
--- 5.3 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 5.1% (6,114 deaths)
--- 4.7 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
Rhode Island
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 17.7% (2,190 deaths)
--- 25.6 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 6.7% (568 deaths)
--- 6.6 times the 1910-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 4.2% (364 deaths)
--- 4.3 times the 1910-1917 average
Stacker
South Carolina
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 19.4% (5,964 deaths)
--- 16.2 times the 1916-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 13.8% (3,171 deaths)
--- 8.6 times the 1916-1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 9.8% (2,322 deaths)
--- 6.3 times the 1916-1917 average
Stacker
Tennessee
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 16.9% (6,281 deaths)
--- 11.1 times 1917 mortality
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 10.8% (3,093 deaths)
--- 5.5 times 1917 mortality
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 8.5% (2,412 deaths)
--- 4.3 times 1917 mortality
You may also like:
Stacker
Utah
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 22.7% (1,402 deaths)
--- 35.1 times the 1910-1915 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 16.4% (803 deaths)
--- 20.1 times the 1910-1915 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 11.0% (573 deaths)
--- 14.3 times the 1910-1915 average
Stacker
Vermont
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 19.9% (1,352 deaths)
--- 9.5 times the 1910-1913 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 7.2% (366 deaths)
--- 2.6 times the 1910-1913 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 5.4% (297 deaths)
--- 2.1 times the 1910-1913 average
Stacker
Virginia
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 19.0% (7,839 deaths)
--- 18.2 times 1917 flu mortality
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 12.3% (3,858 deaths)
--- 9.0 times 1917 flu mortality
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 7.6% (2,311 deaths)
--- 5.4 times 1917 flu mortality
Stacker
Washington
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 17.4% (2,926 deaths)
--- 27.6 times the 1910 and 1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 9.5% (1,365 deaths)
--- 12.9 times the 1910 and 1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 7.4% (1,121 deaths)
--- 10.6 times the 1910 and 1917 average
Stacker
Wisconsin
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1918: 17.9% (6,250 deaths)
--- 18.3 times the 1910 and 1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1919: 7.9% (2,206 deaths)
--- 6.5 times the 1910 and 1917 average
- Flu mortality as percent of all deaths, 1920: 5.8% (1,726 deaths)
--- 5.1 times the 1910 and 1917 average
You may also like:
Stacker
Build your health & fitness knowledge
Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week!