United States: The US states are facing a serious outbreak of a disease that originally belonged to Victorian times.
The continuous rise in cases has been seen throughout the months, where newly developed cases are being reported from Alabama and North Carolina.
Presently, there are 123 whooping cough, more known as pertussis, in Alabama and 525 in North Carolina.
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It is caused by bacteria known as Bordetella pertussis, and it results in violent coughing, fever, sore eyes, and blue lips.
In severe cases, this can lead to vomiting, exhaustion, and problems breathing, and is fatal in about one percent of babies who catch the bug.
The growing threat of illness
Nationally, an outbreak that started in the spring grew less intense over the summer but spiked again in August – and doctors are concerned that the illness may rise even higher as viruses weaken immune systems during the cold and flu season or as people are cooped up indoors because of the weather, the DailyMail reported.
So far, in 2024, there have been five times the number of cases as in 2023 – more than 16,000 Americans were infected as of the middle of October, CDC reported.
The majority of the cases have been detected in Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, California, Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Arizona.
The authorities have blamed it majorly on a gap in vaccination uptake post-pandemic.
According to the CDC, children are advised to receive three doses of the Tdap shot, which protects against the virus, before their first birthday.
Additionally, this shot is proven to be ninety-eight percent effective in preventing disease among children within the year following the injection of the vaccine.
In Alabama, the cases were confirmed in students of the High Schools of Trussville and Springville and the University of Alabama Huntsville, among other schools in the central and northern regions of the state.
Whooping cough cases have increased in the state by 300 percent in the last year – from 41 people to 123 people, according to a report from the Alabama Department of Public Health, the DailyMail reported.
According to Andrew Mundhenk, Henderson County Department of Public Health spokesperson, the latest jump in cases may be “similar to what we saw in the spring.”