Whooping Cough Cases Surge In Michigan

MICHIGAN — Health officials are urging Michiganders to keep up with their vaccinations as cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, increase across Michigan.

As of Oct. 28, there have been 830 confirmed or probable cases of pertussis, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Between 2017 and 2019, Michigan averaged 596 cases of pertussis each year, according to officials.

"Vaccinations continue to be our top line of defense against the spread of pertussis," Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Medical Executive Natasha Bagdasarian said. "With a declining rate of immunizations, we are unfortunately seeing a rise in pertussis and other vaccine preventable diseases statewide. We encourage all Michiganders to stay up to date with their immunization schedule."

Early symptoms of pertussis starts with a cough and runny nose for one to two weeks, followed by weeks to months of rapid coughing fits. These coughing spells sometimes end with a whooping sound as the person gasps for air, hence the name "whooping cough." Fever, if present, is usually mild.

Babies and young children may not cough, but they may have pauses in their breathing (called apnea), which can make their skin look bluish or cause shortness of breath. Later symptoms can consist of uncontrolled coughing fits.

Symptoms can vary for people based on their age and if they've been vaccinated or not, and health experts say that antibiotics can lessen the severity of symptoms and prevent the spread of disease to others.

Health officials strongly urge pregnant women and people who come into close contact with young infants to get vaccinated. Newborns are at the greatest risk of getting whooping cough, since they are too young to be fully vaccinated.

The CDC recommends the following schedule for the TDaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis) vaccination that helps protect people from whooping cough:

• A TDaP booster is recommended for pregnant women early in their third trimester and during each pregnancy to protect their newborns.
• Young children need five TDaP doses by kindergarten: at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15 to 18 months, and 4 to 6 years.
• After that, the first TDaP booster is due at age 11. All students entering seventh grade are required to have proof of a whooping cough booster immunization.
• One dose of TDaP is recommended for adults 19 years of age and older who did not get TDaP as a teenager.
• After that, getting TDaP instead of the standard tetanus shot every 10 years will also reduce infections.

Childhood vaccination rates are continuing to fall across Michigan, meaning more infants and children are at risk for severe pertussis illnesses, according to health officials.

In Michigan, 82.9 percent of children have received their first dose of the Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (DTaP) vaccine by the time they are three months old. However, only 65.6 percent of 19-month-olds received all four recommended doses for DTaP.