Doctors warn of second deadly viral outbreak as cases of Victorian-era disease double
As the Texas measles outbreak spirals to become the biggest since it was declared eradicated two decades ago, a second killer disease is now on the rise.
The US has recorded 8,472 cases of pertussis — known as whooping cough — so far this year, according to the CDC — a highly infectious bacterial disease that causes severe coughing fits and leaves patients struggling to breathe.
That is more than double the 4,252 cases recorded by the same time last year, with experts warning the nation could now be on course for its largest outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease in three quarters of a century.
At least three people have died from the bacterial infection this year, including a child under five in Washington state — the first person to die from whopping cough in the area since 2011.
About 10 deaths are typically recorded from the disease every year in the US, particularly among babies under one year old — who are most at risk. Five doses of the vaccine are 98 percent effective, but this protection wanes over time.
The surge comes amid a dip in vaccinations against the disease, with CDC data showing only 92 percent of kindergarteners are immunized against the disease — and below the 95 percent levels required for herd immunity.
Meanwhile, the measles outbreak in the Southwest has surged to more than 624 cases in Texas alone — and spilled over to at least four other states, infecting at least 115 others. Two unvaccinated girls — ages six and eight — have died in the outbreak.
In a private meeting this week, CDC officials warned in stark terms that the outbreak was now the biggest in the US since 2000 — when measles was officially declared eradicated thanks to high vaccination rates.
Experts have already warned that the measles outbreak in Texas could cost the US its measles elimination status, and persist in the country for more than a year.
Whooping cough cases are already at more than double the level they were this time last year, data shows. The disease is particularly dangerous for small children and babies (stock)
Whooping cough spreads easily via coughs and sneezes, with symptoms initially resembling a cold — runny nose, fever, and mild cough.
Within five to 10 days, however, patients develop the characteristic violent and rapid cough, emptying the lungs of air, following by a 'whoop' sound as they breathe in.
The disease is especially dangerous to babies under one year old, with data suggesting about one in 100 children under six months who get infected die from the disease.
And those who catch whooping cough and survive have a higher risk of other complications like brain damage, officials warn.
Two infant deaths from whooping cough have also been reported in Louisiana over the last seven months. And in Idaho, an adult was reported to have died from the disease in February.
It was not clear whether these individuals were vaccinated.
Amid the surging infections, Chad Neilsen, the head of infection control and prevention at Nemours Children's Health in Florida, told ABC News if cases continue to rise the US could face its biggest outbreak since 1950.
'If we continue this pace, we'll have close to 70,000 cases of pertussis,' he said — with this exceeding the tally for every year since 1950.
'[That would make] it one of the worst years we've seen in the US in quite some time.'
Last year, a mother in the UK urged parents to get their children vaccinated against the disease after her son Spike Ray was left with brain damage after catching whooping cough at just 11 days old.
Susan, from West Sussex and who has been a midwife for 24 years, said: 'Every time I hear someone say they or their child doesn't need the vaccine because whooping cough is "only a cough" I want to pull out a picture of my son hooked up to machines and covered in wires, fighting for his life in intensive care, when he was tiny and say, "Does this look like just a cough to you?".
Spike was left brain-damaged after catching whooping cough at just 11 days old. He was too young to receive a vaccine. Now, his mother Susan is urging all pregnant women to get vaccinated
Despite making a miraculous recovery as a baby, Spike's life was forever altered by the bacterial infection, medically called pertussis
'The vaccine wasn't given to babies as young as Spike was when he fell ill – only at six weeks old.
'Now it is given to pregnant women, before their child is even born to protect the child in the first few months of life, but there is a real lack of awareness about it, which makes me so angry.'
The disease can be prevented via vaccination with the Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis, or DTaP, vaccine.
It is administered in five doses offered at two, four, six and 15 to 18 months of age and between the ages of four and six years.
It protects about 98 out of 100 children for at least a year after the fifth shot, but protection fades over time.
By five years after the fifth shot, about seven out of 10 children still have protection against the disease.
People are recommended to get booster shots against the infection every 10 years. Data suggests about 28 percent of US adults follow this.
Pregnant women are also offered a vaccine against whooping cough, to provide immunity to children after they are born.
In cases where people catch the disease, doctors try to treat whooping cough using antibiotics to kill the bacteria.
Data shows only 92.3 percent of kindergarteners were vaccinated against whooping cough in the 2023 to 2024 school year, the latest year available.
This is down from about 95 percent before the Covid pandemic, and the level that experts say is needed to help prevent an outbreak.
Doctors urge everyone to get vaccinated, in part to help protect those with underlying conditions for whom the shots are likely to be less effective or prevent them from getting the vaccine.
Washington state has recorded the most cases this year, at 941 infections — while its region, the Pacific, including Oregon and California — has recorded the most infections overall at 2,227 so far this year.
The Midwest region — Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin — has recorded the second most at 1,794 infections.
On average, about 10,000 cases and 10 deaths from the disease have been reported in the US every year.
Last year, there were more than 17,500 infections reported and 10 deaths.
