United States: It’s really, quickly spreading around the United States right now, with more than 32,000 cases reported this year alone. It’s about almost six times more than last year, and the highest since 2014. And health officials say there are no signs the increase in cases will slow down.
Actually, very contagious, this is pertussis or whooping cough. Unlike the common cold, for many the bacterial infection strikes in the same way as the common cold does — runny nose, sneezing, low grade fever, tickly cough — after a week or two it can develop into a very painful, whole-body cough. The fits are so bad people vomit or they have so much rib damage or they do a whoop thing as a way to catch a breath.
People can spread the infectious bacteria for between three weeks and months after it begins, and the coughing can last for weeks or months. However, some infections are mild enough that people can spread the illness without even realizing they have it.
As reported by the wral.com, measles, whooping cough, and other respiratory illnesses dropped to low levels, like so many others during the pandemic, as people collectively put other precaution in place for the Covid crisis, including limiting social mixing. According to the CDC, reported cases of whooping cough have peaks every few years — and the most recent trends show the US appears to be heading back to pre-pandemic slopes.
Congo showed reported cases sharply rising for months and over doubling since mid-September, CDC data shows. In the Midwest, most cases, about a quarter of all cases, were reported from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. More than those of any other state, Pennsylvania reports.
Whooping cough can be really very much serious for anyone, but children under 1 years of age are especially vulnerable or very much soft because their immune systems are still developing. For infants and young children who, for one reason or another, have yet to receive all of their recommended vaccines, this is especially true.
The best way to prevent whooping cough is to actually get vaccinated, the CDC recommends: children should receive the DTaP vaccine and adolescents and adults get the TDaP vaccine.