Whooping cough cases are increasing in the United States, having hit their highest point in a decade, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Based on the data, there were around 32,000 cases of whooping cough in the U.S. by mid-December in 2024, but around 6,000 cases by mid-December in 2023. There were also more cases of whooping cough in 2024 than in any other year since 2014 (and more cases than in all of 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 combined).
The increase represents a return to the typical, pre-pandemic prevalence of whooping cough, which tended to surge in cyclical patterns of over 10,000 cases a year prior to the appearance of COVID-19. According to the CDC, the return is tied to the reduction of pandemic precautions, including masking and social distancing, which fended off whooping cough as well as COVID-19.
Whooping Cough Cases
Whooping cough, also called pertussis, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Its initial symptoms are mild — similar to those of the common cold — and tend to last for one to two weeks, while its later symptoms are more severe and typically last for one to six weeks or more.
In about a third of all cases, whooping cough causes coughing fits that are associated with a “whooping” sound, produced as patients inhale air after coughing. These coughing fits tend to worsen as the disease continues, increasing in intensity and frequency throughout the course of the disease. Whooping cough can also cause sneezing, stuffiness, fever, and fatigue, as well as difficulties with breathing.
Whooping cough can be contagious for weeks after the start of its symptoms, and is spread when a person with the disease coughs or sneezes, sending out a spray of bacteria that others then breathe in themselves. As such, the disease is most transmissible when people spend time together, sharing space and touching the same surfaces.
Whooping cough cases have increased in the U.S. since 1990, and are increasing again in 2024, hitting a high point after a drop in cases during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. So why are whooping cough cases surging today?
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Increasing Whooping Cough
The increase in whooping cough cases since 1990 is attributable to a combination of causes, including a change in whooping cough vaccines and an increased awareness of the disease, as well as an increased availability of diagnostic testing, according to the CDC. Mutations to the bacteria B. pertussis are also fingered for the increase in whooping cough cases, as these mutations make the bacteria a more formidable foe against whooping cough vaccinations.
Reductions of pandemic precautions are also connected to the recent rise in whooping cough. CDC data shows that cases dropped from their pre-pandemic levels between 2020 and 2023, in part due to the preventative actions taken during the pandemic, which dulled the transmission of whooping cough as well as COVID-19. Thus, as the preventative actions taken during the pandemic decline, whooping cough cases are again increasing, returning to their pre-pandemic cycles and patterns of more than 10,000 cases a year.
According to the CDC, the strongest protection against whooping cough is vaccination, which is suggested for infants, children, and adults, as well as during pregnancy. While infants and younger children receive doses of the DTaP vaccine, older children and adults receive doses and booster doses of the Tdap vaccine, both of which reduce the spread and severity of whooping cough, while also targeting tetanus and diphtheria.
While vaccination reduces the risk of whooping cough, vaccinated individuals of all ages can still contract the disease, though their symptoms tend to remain mild. As such, both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are affected as the U.S. returns to its typical cycles of whooping cough.
Read More: Does a Runny Nose Mean You Have COVID-19, the Flu, or a Common Cold?
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Sam Walters is a journalist covering archaeology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution for Discover, along with an assortment of other topics. Before joining the Discover team as an assistant editor in 2022, Sam studied journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
