Louisiana’s deadly whooping cough outbreak continues to surge, and it’s doing the most harm to children under the age of 1.
The state has counted more cases in the first four months of this year than in all of last year —164 so far compared to 153 cases in all of 2024, the Louisiana Department of Health said in a press release Friday. If that pace continues, the state could see more whooping cough cases in 2025 than it has seen annually in the last 35 years.
Last month, Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham confirmed two infants in the state died from whooping cough and shared information about vaccines on social media.
Whooping cough can be prevented through vaccination. But it is highly contagious and especially dangerous for babies. Since September, 40 people in Louisiana have been hospitalized with whooping cough, and 70% of those were babies under the age of 1, according to the release.
The two infant deaths, first reported by media outlets, were the first whooping cough fatalities in Louisiana since 2018. Some doctors have warned that lower vaccination rates and vaccine misinformation could be contributing to the outbreak.
Last year, the Louisiana Department of Health quietly banned the promotion of some vaccines. Earlier this year, Abraham directed the department to ban all vaccine promotion. He has also repeated misinformation about the safety of COVID vaccines and the widely debunked link between vaccines and autism.
Pediatricians in Louisiana have urged the public to get vaccinated, noting the vaccines have been so successful in the past that some have rarely encountered whooping cough during their careers.
In the press release, the department noted the whooping cough vaccine is “the best way to prevent serious complications.” It said parents should review their children’s vaccine records and talk to their provider about the whooping cough vaccine. The vaccine’s effectiveness wanes over time, and children should receive a booster between 11 and 12 years, and adults every 10 years, it said.
Newborns are especially vulnerable to whooping cough because they don’t receive their first immunization until 2 months old, which is why public health guidance advises that pregnant women should receive a booster, which passes antibodies against the disease to their fetus.
“Pregnant women should also get the Tdap vaccine during the third trimester of any pregnancy,” the health department said. “Evidence shows that infants are less likely to develop pertussis early in life if their mother received the Tdap vaccine during pregnancy.”
Whooping cough spreads through sneezing, coughing and close contact, and infected people can spread the disease for three weeks before coughing symptoms begin.
