Whooping cough cases on the rise in Massachusetts

MEDFIELD, Mass. — Nothing says ‘October’ like a pumpkin patch. And, if you work in healthcare, nothing says ‘October” more than a stream of patients with respiratory complaints. In recent years, this is the month when flu, RSV, pneumonia and Covid begin ramping up -- with most of these illnesses peaking in the early weeks of winter.

This year, you can add another respiratory illness to the list: Pertussis, commonly known as ‘whooping cough.’ The disorder is so named because of the sound patients make as they gasp for oxygen between coughs.

During the pandemic, cases of pertussis remained low, as masking and other measures helped stop the spread of all kinds of infectious diseases. Between 2020 and 2023, the state Department of Public Health reported 66 cases of whooping cough. In the first seven months of this year, the number is 252 cases.

Nationally, the CDC reports about 18,000 cases. The numbers haven’t been that high since 2019, before the pandemic.

But 18,000 is nothing compared with pertussis incidence decades ago. In the 1930s and 1940s, the number of annual whooping cough cases commonly topped 100,000 -- sometimes even 200,000.

Pertussis is caused by a bacterium that causes inflammation in the lungs. The disease is notable not only for its sound -- but also its duration. Whooping cough can last for weeks -- and during a substantial amount of that time, patients remain infectious.

While most recover, whooping cough can be fatal to small children. This is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend DTP shots for everyone. The DTP vaccine also covers diphtheria and tetanus. It is usually administered early in life as a series of shots -- then, ideally, as a booster during the pre-teen years.

Introduced in 1948, the DTP vaccine had a near-immediate effect on pertussis cases in the U.S. -- which haven’t topped 100,000 since 1950. In fact, during the 1970s, annual cases sometimes fell below 2,000, according to the CDC.

But cases began rising again in the 1980s -- reaching a high of 32,000 in 2014.

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