A wave of whooping cough infections is continuing to worsen nationwide, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests, with weekly reported cases now accelerating to the highest levels seen in the U.S. for years.
Why are whooping cough cases accelerating?
What are the symptoms of whooping cough?
Doctors typically divide whooping cough into at least three stages, which start with an initial onset of symptoms similar to the common cold, like cough and runny nose.
How is whooping cough treated?
According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the whooping cough epidemic is spreading across the country and is currently at an all-time high in terms of weekly reported cases. S. many years.
As of right now, the CDC counts at least 259 cases of pertussis, up from 215 cases per week toward the end of June. These cases were reported during the first week of August.
With 1,489 cases reported thus far this year, Pennsylvania leads all other states in this regard. With 1,266 infections, New York has recorded the second-highest overall number of cases.
The rise coincides with CDC officials’ months-long warnings of a return to the illness’s pre-pandemic patterns. Bordetella pertussis, the bacteria responsible for whooping cough, reached record lows during the COVID-19 pandemic, probably as a result of more people staying home from work and school and donning masks at the time.
The number of pertussis cases reported by health departments this year to date exceeds 10,000. The total number of cases this year by mid-June was more than three times higher than it was at the same point last year.
With approximately 8,000 cases reported by early August 2019, reported cases this year are also higher than those immediately prior to the pandemic.
Why are the number of whooping cough cases rising?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, infection rates for several diseases that are spread by the air, such as pertussis, decreased.
“Mitigation strategies employed during the pandemic (e.g. G. , masking, and remote learning) reduced the number of cases of pertussis infections,” the CDC reported in July.
That reversed the trend of signs that pertussis rates had begun to rise again following a decline from a 2012 peak.
At a National Foundation for Infectious Diseases event in April, Tami Skoff, a CDC epidemiologist, stated, “The increase in pertussis that we are observing continued right up through the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, after which we saw the dramatic decline in reported pertussis, which was similar to trends in other nationally notifiable diseases.”.
Before the pandemic, Skoff said, there was a steady rise in pertussis cases due to a variety of factors, including higher rates of infection detection and reporting.
Another explanation might be related to the 1990s vaccine shift to “acellular” shots, which are safer but have a decreasing protective effect over time.
“Wiening protection from acellular pertussis vaccines is one of the driving factors and one of the largest contributors,” Skoff stated.
After declining booster recommendations for the 2012 surges, Skoff stated that the CDC’s vaccine experts do not currently have any plans to revisit the subject of pertussis vaccinations. However, she added, the agency’s recommendations might alter in response to new vaccines.
“Vaccines are currently being developed and coming soon. We should have vaccines with longer protection duration available in the coming years, she hoped.
What signs and symptoms are associated with whooping cough?
Medical professionals usually distinguish whooping cough into three phases, the first of which begins with symptoms like runny nose and cough that are similar to those of the common cold. A week or so after the patient was first exposed to another contagious person, symptoms usually start to appear.
Up to six more weeks may pass while the cough gets worse, frequently leading to the recognizable “whooping” sound that patients make when they can’t breathe after coughing violently for short periods of time in an attempt to clear mucus that has accumulated in their airways.
As a result of their body’s oxygen shortage, they may experience nausea and/or blue- or purple-colored skin.
Depending on how old the patient is, the symptoms may seem differently. With the highest hospitalization rates, infants are most vulnerable to severe pertussis.
While the thousands of childhood deaths pertussis used to cause annually in the early 20th century have been avoided thanks to vaccinations and improved treatments, severe cases can still lead to complications like pneumonia and neurological problems, particularly in newborns.
How can whooping cough be addressed?
According to the CDC, if taken early in an infection, antibiotics can help lessen the severity of whooping cough. In order to keep them from becoming sick, they can also be administered to close contacts of at-risk cases of pertussis.
A swab inserted deep into the nose can be used by doctors to test patients who exhibit symptoms. According to the CDC, conducting those tests during the first three weeks of the cough yields the best results.
“We don’t think about pertussis in older people or they come to healthcare much later when some of the diagnostic tests aren’t accurate,” Skoff said. “In the setting of waning immunity and we are seeing more and older individuals.”.
Patients can begin receiving antibiotics without always requiring testing, particularly if they are at high risk of developing a serious illness. Antibiotics such as azithromycin can treat infections in people with pertussis for up to five days, but there’s no guarantee that this will result in a quicker resolution of symptoms.
