It's been five years since the last major whooping cough outbreak in California, but the disease is on the rise.
Nationally, cases of whooping cough, as the disease is formally known, are nearly three times higher in 2024 than during the first five months of 2023, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USA
And in California, case counts “have been higher during the first months of 2024 than in previous years,” the state Department of Public Health said in a written statement to the Times.
California has recorded 506 cases so far this year, almost four times the 128 cases reported during the same period last year.
The respiratory infection, which is especially dangerous for babies, is cyclical in nature and increases every three to five years, said Dr. Nava Yeganeh, medical director for vaccine-preventable disease control at the County Department of Public Health. The Angels.
In 2019, whooping cough cases in Los Angeles County rose to more than 1,000. Since then, counts have been relatively low, “so we're behind,” Yeganeh said.
While the numbers are not currently trending upward at the pace of the 2019 level, “it could be getting there,” he added.
The infection is caused by bacterial droplets and causes symptoms one to three weeks after exposure. Initially, symptoms may include a runny nose, cough and fever, Yeganeh said, but they can progress to “violent, relentless coughing fits” that can disrupt sleep and cause rib fractures and eye bruising.
Those most at risk of contracting the disease are babies, who can have breathing problems to the point of turning purple around the mouth.
“They often need to be hospitalized and closely monitored,” Yeganeh said.
The earliest age at which a baby can be vaccinated is six weeks. Children receive five doses of the vaccine when they are 6 years old. And California officials are requiring a booster dose for students entering seventh grade. The CDC and CDPH also recommend booster vaccines for adults.
Yeganeh said she was traumatized by watching babies with whooping cough struggle to breathe when she worked in hospitals.
Los Angeles County, however, has not reported any child hospitalizations since the pandemic began in 2020. Vaccinating pregnant women “has made a big difference for us,” Yeganeh said.
Prenatal vaccination, which occurs during the third trimester of pregnancy and allows the mother's immunity to be transferred to the baby, at least temporarily, “prevents most cases in infants younger than 2 months,” the CDPH says.
The effectiveness of mask-wearing and well-ventilated indoor spaces — lessons from the COVID years — also applies to whooping cough, Yeganeh said.
He noted that outbreaks on the East Coast could reach California, as they have with RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus.
“We're definitely keeping an eye on and expecting to see outbreaks of whooping cough this year,” he said.
Those with symptoms should be tested and those infected should be treated with antibiotics if they have the infection to prevent further transmission.
And experts recommend staying up to date on vaccines. County-level kindergarten data shows a drop in the rate of people up to date on vaccinations, from 95% in 2019 to 92% in 2020. The numbers have risen again to 95% since then.
