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Wisconsin has the third highest total number of whooping cough cases in the US, the CDC says

Wisconsin has the third highest total number of whooping cough cases in the US, the CDC says

Wisconsin has had more cases of whooping cough than almost any other state in the country so far this year, according to disease data released Friday from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It’s been an explosive year for the highly contagious bacterial infection across the country, according to the CDC. In the week ending Dec. 7 — the most recent data available — the U.S. had reported over 30,000 cumulative cases of whooping coughmore than six times number at this time last year.

As of Dec. 7, Wisconsin has reported 2,339 cases of whooping cough in 2024, third only to New York, which reported 2,512, and Pennsylvania, which reported 2,757.

At this time last year, according to CDC data, Wisconsin had reported just 29 cases of whooping cough.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a cyclical disease, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said. he previously told the Journal Sentinel — that is, a few years can go by with few cases, and then within a year, the cases will increase dramatically.

For example, the number of whooping cough cases this year is higher than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, when Wisconsin had 532 cases — though DHS officials cautioned against making comparisons because the reporting definition of of the disease has changed in 2020. However, this year is far lower than in 2012, the last whooping cough peak, when Wisconsin had 6,880 confirmed cases and likely, according to CDC data.

Whooping cough is characterized by a cough that starts mild but worsens after about a week, which can cause other symptoms such as shortness of breath, needing to take deep breaths that make a “whoop” sound, and vomiting, according to DHS . . Babies may not cough, but they may stop breathing for a few seconds at a time or look like they’re gasping for air.

As of Dec. 9, 85 Wisconsin infants have been diagnosed with whooping cough and a dozen have been hospitalized, according to DHS data. More than 90 percent of Wisconsin counties have had at least one case of whooping cough since the start of the year, but no deaths have been reported nationally.

Half of Wisconsin’s cases were in residents between the ages of 11 and 18.

Whooping cough is treated with antibiotics, according to DHS, but it can also be prevented. Two vaccines are used to protect against it – DTaP, for children under seven, and Tdap, for older children and adults. You can find out if you or your children have been vaccinated against whooping cough by visiting Wisconsin Immunization Registry TO dhs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/wir.htm.

More: Cases of whooping cough remain elevated in Wisconsin. Here’s how to prevent the spread of the disease

More: Wisconsin has among the lowest kindergarten vaccination rates in the U.S., which worries doctors

Madeline Heim is a Report for America staff reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: CDC: Wisconsin 2024 cases of whooping cough third highest in US