Louisiana’s whooping cough outbreak is now the worst in 35 years, after cases dramatically outpaced the previous record high over the summer and hospitalizations continued to rise among young infants. Two babies have died in the outbreak.
So far this year, Louisiana recorded 368 cases of whooping cough, also called pertussis, as of August 23, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The previous 35-year high was 214 cases in 2013.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory illness that is particularly deadly for young babies. Infants under the age of 1 are the most likely to be hospitalized.
The outbreak has far outpaced the usual number of cases seen in the state each year. Louisiana has averaged about 77 cases annually over the last 21 years, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Health.
Health officials confirmed in February that two infants had died of whooping cough during the outbreak, which began last year. Those are the first whooping cough deaths in Louisiana since 2018.
Since last September, when health officials said the outbreak began, at least 63 people have been hospitalized for whooping cough, according to LDH data. Of that total, 65% of those hospitalized have been babies under the age of 1. Data provided by health officials also shows that 75% of people hospitalized by mid-May were not up-to-date on pertussis vaccinations.
“Whooping cough can have very serious and even deadly complications for young babies and children, and especially if those babies and young children haven't received all of their whooping cough vaccines,” said Theresa Sokol, the state epidemiologist, during a press conference in May.
Pediatricians have urged people — especially pregnant women and young children — to get vaccinated, and warned that vaccine misinformation could be playing a role in the outbreak.
State health officials and pediatricians have stressed that the pertussis vaccine is the best protection against serious illness and death from whooping cough.
