Cases of whooping cough are on the rise across Massachusetts, increasing to “pre-pandemic levels” this year, according to state health officials.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly infectious respiratory illness that begins with mild symptoms and can become extremely dangerous, particularly for unvaccinated, very young or elderly patients. In Massachusetts, 541 cases of whooping cough have been recorded this year, compared to 11 last year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.
Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein urged parents and clinicians to be on the look out for symptoms as cases continue to rise, “particularly among adolescents,” Goldstein told the Public Health Council last week. “Importantly, pertussis is vaccine preventable. Everyone should be up to date with their pertussis vaccine to prevent disease.”
Most communicable diseases declined during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as people practiced precautions like social distancing and wearing masks, said Shira Doron, chief infection control officer at Tufts Medicine.
“I would say, though, looking at various sources of data, that we are not only at pre-pandemic levels, but we’re having a high pertussis year,” Doron said. “Every certain number of years, we see years that are worse in terms of pertussis.”
Though children are generally vaccinated on a recommended schedule, adults often fall behind on their pertussis vaccines, which generally come in a combined cocktail of vaccines to protect against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.
“Some people get the one that doesn’t have the pertussis vaccine in it, so make sure to ask your doctor about that,” she said. “I had a pertussis situation in my immediate family years ago, and I try to tell people what it looks like when it’s in your home, and that you wouldn’t wish such a thing on your worst enemy.”
Because initial symptoms are similar to those that accompany a common cold, whooping cough is difficult to detect in its early stages, Doron said. But if a cough lasts for a long time, gets worse or comes with a distinct “whooping” sound — “the sound of a compromised airway” — it could be pertussis.
“Usually when you’ve been coughing for a couple of weeks, you start to wonder if something else is going on and you see a doctor,” she said. “By then you’ve potentially infected a lot of people.”
Pertussis can be deadly for infants, and can be debilitating for older adults who could require a respirator to breathe.
“I’ve seen numerous pregnant women with pertussis break ribs because the coughing is so violent,” Doron said. “And then you can imagine having to keep coughing with that kind of pain.”
Because the current vaccine for pertussis is not a perfect preventative solution, state officials encouraged “a high index of suspicion” for cases, “regardless of vaccination status,” in a press release earlier this summer, as cases began to rise.
Other respiratory illnesses like COVID-19, influenza and RSV are currently at low levels, Goldstein said, but health officials expect that they will rise throughout the winter.
