The top five states in whooping cough reporting also include Arizona, 220; Pennsylvania, 205; and Texas, 191, CDC data states.
The number of cases of the highly infectious bacterial disease considered most serious for babies and young children has already surpassed 2022 totals for the entire year, CDC data shows.
The Atlanta-based agency’s records indicate 3,123 reported pertussis cases through Sept. 30 compared to 2,388 last year. Ohio’s total was 145 that year.
The Ohio Department of Health encourages people to stay up to date with their vaccinations, including for pertussis, according to Ken Gordon, its public information officer
“It also is important to stay home and away from others if you are sick, as whooping cough can be very dangerous for infants in particular,” Gordon told this news organization.
Ohio’s totals so far this year are more than three regions that each include at least four states, according to the CDC: The South Atlantic, 279; West South Central, 220; and Pacific, 179.
The East North Central region, which includes Ohio, has 830 and is tops among the nine listed.
In Southwest Ohio, Montgomery County has seen a doubling of whooping cough cases compared to all of 2022 with two recent cases reported in Kettering City Schools.
Twenty-seven cases have been reported this year while 2022 saw 13 reported for the entire year, said Dan Suffoletto, public information manager for Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County.
The Butler County General Health District has had two reported cases through Oct. 5, one fewer than all of 2022, officials said.
Five cases have been reported in Clark County for 2023 through September after only one was recorded last year, said Health Commissioner Charlie Patterson.
Similarly, reported pertussis cases in Miami County totaled five through August, according to Nate Bednar, community services director. Since 2018, 21 cases have been reported in that county, but none last year, records show.
Four cases have been confirmed this year in Greene County, where eight cases have been reported since 2020, including zero last year, according to county records there.
One case has been confirmed in Warren County so far this year, the same as in all of 2022, according to the county health district.
Early symptoms can last up two weeks and usually include:
- Runny or stuffed-up nose
- Low-grade fever (less than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Mild, occasional cough (babies do not do this)
- Apnea (life-threatening pauses in breathing) and cyanosis (turning blue or purple) in babies and young children
In its early stages, whooping cough appears to be nothing more than the common cold. Therefore, doctors often do not suspect or diagnose it until the more severe symptoms appear.
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