Kentucky doctors and the state Department for Public Health "are seeing an unusually high uptick in whooping cough," or pertussis, Louisville's WDRB reports. "Immunity for vaccination or natural infections wanes over time, so people who are fully vaccinated can still get whooping cough. Doctors said the vaccine lessens the severity and will likely keep someone out of the hospital."
Kentucky had 84 confirmed cases of pertussis in 2023, and 66 confirmed so far in 2024, said Brice Mitchell, spokesman for the department. That works out to just under two cases a week last year, and just under thgree cases a week so far this year.
Most of Kentucky's cases have been in school-age children, but some been in infants and adults, WDRB reports.
"It's not unusual to actually see whooping cough; however, the numbers that are being seen, that is definitely unusual, " Dr. Mark Burns of the University of Louisville told WDRB. "It's usually not that prevalent as it is right now."
from KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS https://ift.tt/1NmaBck Kentucky is seeing an 'unusually high uptick' in pertussis, known as whooping cough; Lexington outbreak grows to 21 cases Healthy Care
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