Whooping cough is spiking around the DMV; Here’s what you need to know

WASHINGTON ( DC News Now ) — After years of being relatively quiet, whooping cough is back with a vengeance.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a very contagious disease.

“This disease is only found in humans and what happens is that the bacteria, if you breathe it in, will attach to the tiny hairs inside of the nostrils called ‘cilia,’ which is an upper part of the respiratory tract. And then they release toxins, which are poisons. And these toxins damage these cilia, these little hair light projections that you see, in the nose that help prevent germs from going in. So it’s, it’s a very serious disease,” Dr. Celia Maxwell, an infectious disease specialist at Howard University Hospital, said.

Whooping cough cases are skyrocketing across the country, including in the DMV, with Virginia being hit particularly hard.

According to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), through Sept. 14, there have been 424 cases so far this year, compared to 72 in 2023.

Maryland has reported 90 cases versus the nine cases that were reported a year ago.

Washington, D.C. has seen the number of cases double from three to six.

West Virginia has reported a slight increase from 17 cases in 2023 to 21 reported cases in 2024.

“We have seen, a significant rise, particularly in the DMV area, most notably in Virginia. So it is believed that because of the, not so much dismantling, but the relaxing of the COVID measures that we had in place, we begin to see more people affected and infected with this disease. So that is a real trend that we are seeing and would really like to stop,” Maxwell said.

Much like respiratory illnesses, the more whooping cough cases there are, the more likely it is to spread.

“You can get things like a stuffy nose, low grade fever and, initially, a mild cough. By week two, however, with whooping cough or pertussis, this cough can become more severe and it can happen day or night and it comes in bouts. They are called ‘paroxysm.’ A big word for fits, coughing or coughing spells,” Maxwell said.

According to Maxwell, he best way to prevent whooping cough is to get vaccinated.

“In adults, this vaccine is given every ten years. In children or infants, it’s a little bit, different in terms of the timeline, but the vaccine is very effective to prevent this disease, which, should be the option that we look for because, treatment while still very good, in some instances may not work as effectively,” she said.

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