Cases of whooping cough on the rise in California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Ron Chapman, director of the California Department of Public Health and state health officer, last week warned that the number of pertussis (whooping cough) cases continue to increase in California.

CDPH has received reports of 2,649 cases of pertussis occurring from January through May 27, 2014, more than the number of cases reported in all of 2013. More than 800 cases were reported in April alone, the highest monthly count since the 2010 epidemic.

“The number of pertussis cases is likely to continue to increase,” Chapman said. “As an important preventive measure, we recommend that pregnant women receive a pertussis vaccine booster during the third trimester of each pregnancy, and that infants be vaccinated as soon as possible.”

Infants too young to be fully immunized remain most vulnerable to severe and fatal cases of pertussis. Sixty-six of the hospitalized cases to date in 2014 have been in children 4 months of age or younger. Two infant deaths have been reported this year, one with onset in 2013, the second with onset in 2014.

As many as 83% of the cases have occurred in infants and children younger than 18 years of age. Of the pediatric cases, 8% were younger than 6 months-old, and 70% were 7 through 16 years of age.