Whooping cough cases are out of control in the United States – as of December 20th, there were 27,871 cases and 13 deaths. In 2024, there were 41,922 cases. This is a massive increase in incidence from the period 1970 to 90 where cases averaged about 2,600 per year. There has been a significant increase since 2003, with cases averaging between 10,000 to 20,000.
Pertussis is a nasty disease characterized by a severe, violent cough, where people cough so much they run out of breath and then, in between coughs, inhale strongly, making a whooping sound, hence giving the disease its name. Babies die either because they literally suffocate, a build-up of blood pressure causing heart failure, or severe pneumonia from a secondary infection. The stress of violent coughing can also lead to brain bleeds. Even if the child survives, lung scarring caused by inflammation associated with the disease can cause permanent damage and lead them to be susceptible to asthma and COPD later in life. Watching a child suffer from whooping cough is a heart-wrenching experience. And this lasts for weeks!
The illness is caused by Bordetella pertussis, which grows in the lungs and emits toxins into the respiratory tract. It attaches strongly to the lung tissue and is difficult for the immune system to remove. You can read all about the infection in my section on the pathogen. Unless it is caught early, antibiotics help a little, but don’t cure the illness. The good news is that we have a safe and effective vaccine against the disease. The bad news is that vaccine rates in the United States for DTaP (the P stands for pertussis) have been dropping.
Here is a chart showing DTaP vaccination rates in toddlers versus disease incidence.
The rate in toddlers is the most important. Vaccine uptake in kindergartners is much higher (92 to 96%) because of school mandates. The problem is that pertussis is most dangerous for infants in their first year of life. They cannot be completely protected against the illness at that age (it’s a 5-dose series that ends at age 5), and we depend upon herd immunity to protect them. As immunity has dropped, more cases of pertussis have arisen.
But pertussis is not the deadly epidemic I refer to in the title. Ignorance about vaccines and their importance is the problem. Too many people have lost trust in institutions and experts. They have also lost their fear of these deadly killers. Instead, they listen to quacks that tell them not to get vaccinated. Vaccines overall have had a profound effect on the rates of disease. They are miraculous. Look at this table:
| Disease | Pre-vaccination rate | 2025 rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small pox | 48,164 | 0 | 100 |
| Diptheria | 175,885 | <5 | 99.99 |
| Measles | 503,282 | 2,065* | 99.59 |
| Mumps | 152,209 | 450 | 99.71 |
| Pertussis | 147,271 | 27,871* | 81.07 |
| Polio (paralytic) | 16,316 | 0 | 100 |
| Rubella | 47,745 | 10 | 99.98 |
| Cong. Rubella Synd. | 823 | 0 | 100 |
| Tetanus | 1,314 | 30 | 97.72 |
| H. Influenza type B | 20,000 | 30 | 99.85 |
Vaccines work! Please get vaccinated.