Whooping cough cases spike in North Carolina

Written by Jennifer Fernandez

Pertussis cases in North Carolina skyrocket in 2024. Nearly 600 cases reported —Currently 6.4 times as much as last year.

Nationwide, the number of infected people has increased by 4.8 times. Federal data shows.

Experts say highly contagious respiratory diseases tend to rise and fall in cycles as vaccines wear off and children are born without immunity. In recent years, efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have helped reduce the number of pertussis cases. People became isolated and the number of children attending schools decreased.

While the return to regular socializing habits after the pandemic may be largely responsible for the increase, vaccine hesitancy may be driving some of this recent surge. Some experts have warned.

“Honestly, it's something we deal with every day,” said Suresh Nagappan, medical director of the children's division at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, about people debating whether to get vaccinated. “I think a big reason is that people are losing trust in authority.”

Fewer and fewer people are taking the word of public health experts or the advice of their GPs. To counter this loss of authority, doctors need to personalize the information they give patients, such as sharing what they've read in recent studies or how the vaccine has helped other patients, says Nagapan. he said.

Whooping cough cases in North Carolina Written by Jennifer Fernandez

The peak of the number of infected people is still far away

As of the week ending Nov. 23, North Carolina had recorded 576 cases of pertussis, up from 90 cases a year earlier. at the same time last yearaccording to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As whooping cough tends to peak in the fall and winter, the number of infected people is expected to continue increasing.

Whooping cough, also known as whooping cough, is caused by a bacterial infection and can be life-threatening, especially for infants. The name “whooping cough” comes from the wheezing sound people make when they catch their breath after a prolonged cough.

The cough and swelling of the airways associated with whooping cough are especially difficult for infants, whose airways are narrow.

in 2012 outbreak A 2-month-old baby died in Winston-Salem.

“You can't deal with it the same way as adults,” Nagapan says.

Early symptoms may resemble a cold. Symptoms usually take 5 to 10 days to appear, but can take up to 3 weeks. The cough associated with whooping cough can last for weeks or even months and can lead to pneumonia in children and adults. Some people have severe coughs, You may break your ribs or faint..

According to the CDC, about one-third of infants under 12 months of age who contract pertussis end up in the hospital. One in five babies who contract whooping cough develops pneumonia. About 1 percent, or 1 in 100 people, die.

In North Carolina, all children get vaccinated It is effective against several diseases such as measles, polio, and whooping cough.

Nagappan said that while the number of infections is moving in the wrong direction, the net number of infections is “not that high compared to recent memory.”

If the number of weekly infections remains stable, the country's total number of infections this year is on track to reach around 30,000. This is well below the highest number in more than 60 years of 48,277 in 2012.

Nagapan attributes this increase to the introduction of newer versions of the whooping cough vaccine introduced in the early 1990s. Although hailed by health care providers and parents for having fewer side effects, the “cell-free” vaccine is only about 85% effective and does not provide as long-term protection as previous versions.

Helen's influence

From the end of 2018 through August 2023, North Carolina will have 16 whooping cough According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, there is an outbreak. Before the remnants of Hurricane Helen hit western North Carolina, the region was seeing a resurgence in cases, mainly among children, after an outbreak in the spring, according to media reports.

Cases have doubled in Buncombe County since September; According to media reports and Data from Buncombe County Health and Human Services Department.

In one of them, recommendationNCDHHS warned that respiratory illnesses will be a problem after the storm. The agency recommends vaccination not only for seasonal respiratory viruses, but also for people who have not been vaccinated against whooping cough and for people who are particularly susceptible to the spread of respiratory infections, “particularly those living in crowded living environments or shelters.'' Vaccination was encouraged.

Under state law, children typically must show proof of vaccination to attend school or day care. Students must provide proof of vaccination or prove they are exempt from vaccination within 30 days of first starting school or child care. Students who miss the deadline may be suspended from school.

In response to Herren, state officials said: given to students affected by the storm. It will take more time to meet vaccination requirements. That might have made it possible to spread it.

Return to pre-pandemic patterns

Pertussis was once one of the most common childhood illnesses and a leading cause of death in children. After vaccines were developed in the 1940s, the number of infections in the United States began to decline from 200,000 per year to less than 19,000 in 2019.

The number of infections has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic, reaching 2,116 in 2021, the lowest in the nation, according to CDC data. Health officials said the decline is likely due to people increasing their isolation, masking and hand-washing during the pandemic. By preventing the spread of the coronavirus, other respiratory diseases, such as whooping cough, have also been suppressed.

Health officials said these same practices could help prevent the spread of whooping cough.

The country is starting to do this. Return to pre-pandemic patterns More than 10,000 cases of whooping cough are typically reported each year, the CDC said, but experts believe many of the illnesses are contagious. unrecognized and unreported.

The agency expects pertussis cases to increase this year in vaccinated and unvaccinated populations.

Number of pertussis cases in the United States Written by Jennifer Fernandez

Vaccinations are down, exemptions are up.

Covers all vaccinations for kindergarten children It's falling Nationally and in North Carolina for the past 10 years.

In North Carolina, 93.5% of new kindergarteners received all required vaccinations last year, according to the latest data from the CDC. This is a 2 point decrease compared to the 2011-12 school year.

Nationally, vaccination rates last year ranged from 92.3% for diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis vaccine (commonly known as DTaP) to measles, mumps, and immunization rates, according to the most recent CDC data available. This amounted to 92.7% of rubella combination vaccines.

Meanwhile, data shows that the percentage of students applying for vaccination exemptions remains small but continues to rise, primarily for non-medical reasons. Last school year, 2.9% of North Carolina kindergartners were exempt, lower than the 3.3% of kindergarteners nationwide who were exempt.

In North Carolina, the percentage of kindergarteners exempt for any reason has more than tripled over the past 12 years. Nationally, that number has doubled.

Nagappan said that although there is opposition to vaccination against COVID-19 and measles, parents are showing a lot of interest in vaccination. New antibody treatment for respiratory syncytial virus released last yearor RSV. RSV is caused by a common virus that can be very dangerous to very young infants and infants and toddlers with certain health problems.

He said there have been many bad seasons of RSV, and many people know people whose children have been hospitalized. And after several outbreaks of the disease, daycares flooded parents with warnings about the dangers of RSV, “giving people the idea that RSV is dangerous,” he said.

This response to the new treatment gives Nagappan hope.

“I don’t think this is a blanket refusal of the vaccine,” he said. “I think people want specific recommendations, and that’s based on their own experiences.”