Whooping cough cases reach highest level in a decade [View all]

Source: NBC News

Dec. 23, 2024, 1:01 PM EST


Whooping cough cases in the U.S. have reached the highest annual total in a decade, with as many cases tallied in the last 12 weeks as in the entire rest of the year.

As of mid-September, about 14,500 cases had been recorded nationwide since the beginning of the year. That number climbed to more than 32,000 as of Dec. 14, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That's a six-fold increase from the same time in 2023, when more than 5,100 cases had been recorded. The total for 2022 was even lower, at roughly 3,000 cases.

Experts attribute the high case tally to a combination of factors. For one, whooping cough cases dropped to levels far lower than average during the Covid pandemic, so a jump back to pre-pandemic patterns was expected. However, this year’s total is significantly higher than 2019’s, likely due to waning vaccine protection, lower vaccination rates and improved testing, they said.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/whooping-cough-cases-symptoms-rcna182678