Whooping cough makes return to Vermont after pandemic hiatus

Reported cases of whooping cough are becoming more common across Vermont after remaining low for the past five years, according to a Vermont Department of Health official.

Over the past three months, 22 cases of pertussis — commonly known as whooping cough — have been reported across six Vermont counties, said Deputy State Epidemiologist Laura Ann Nicolai. The last time numbers were that high, she said, was in 2019, when a total of 43 cases were reported over the course of the year.

“Frankly, we’re overdue for one of these waves of increased activity,” Nicolai said. Overall, pandemic regulations and behaviors, such as wearing a mask and closely monitoring cold-like symptoms, led to a statewide drop in whooping cough cases in recent years, she said. In fact, she added, only one pertussis case was reported to the state health department in 2023.

But as Vermonters have changed their habits, whooping cough has re-emerged as a health concern — especially in areas where pertussis vaccination rates are low, Nicolai said.

The Vermont Department of Health first issued a health advisory for whooping cough on Aug. 14 after an outbreak of the disease was identified in the Brattleboro area. Thirteen people — 10 of whom were unvaccinated — were diagnosed there within the previous three weeks, according to the advisory.

“What was concerning to us is that we were seeing a large number of cases coming in within a short period of time, and not coming from the same household,” Nicolai said about the Brattleboro outbreak.

Patients diagnosed with whooping cough this summer range in age from 7 months to 56 years, Nicolai said, but the majority of cases have been reported in children under the age of 12.

While whooping cough can affect people of all ages, it can be serious and even deadly for babies, according to the Vermont Department of Health’s report on the disease . About one in three children younger than 1 year old who get whooping cough need care in the hospital, according to the health department, largely because the disease can cause apnea — a life-threatening pause in breathing.

Whooping cough appears similar to a common cold in the early stages of an infection, according to the health department. But one to two weeks after symptoms begin, people often develop severe coughing fits that can last for months if not treated with antibiotics.

Unlike COVID-19 — which is a virus that has recently been causing mild cold and cough symptoms and generally goes away on its own — pertussis needs to be addressed and treated efficiently in order to reduce the risk of severe health effects, Nicolai said.

“If you notice that you or your children are coughing or having other symptoms, check in with your health care provider,” she said. “I’m encouraging people to get treatment early, not waiting until you’ve been coughing for two weeks before checking in.”

Antibiotic treatment not only reduces the severity of whooping cough symptoms and the duration of the illness, Nicolai said, but also helps to limit the spread of the disease to others.

The bacterium that causes pertussis spreads easily through the air when someone who is infected coughs or sneezes, according to the health department report. Without antibiotic treatment, someone with whooping cough can be contagious for up to three weeks after the start of their cough, Nicolai said.

Vaccination is the best protection against whooping cough, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends routine vaccination for all children younger than 7 years old, including a five-dose DTaP series for infants.

Another vaccination, Tdap, can be administered to children around the age of 11 or 12 and re-administered as a booster every 10 years for adults, according to the CDC.

Because immunity from childhood vaccinations wanes over time, booster shots are “essential to reduce the risk of contracting pertussis and can decrease severity of disease,” according to the state’s health advisory. And it’s not too late to get boosted before the school year begins, Nicolai said: Shots can build immunity against pertussis within two weeks.

A Tdap dose is also recommended to women in their third trimester of pregnancy to provide protection to their baby before birth, according to the Vermont health department.

Regardless of vaccination status, people with pre-existing health conditions who have been directly exposed to whooping cough should ask their doctor about prophylactic antibiotic treatments to stop the bacterium before it begins to cause symptoms, Nicolai said.

Otherwise, she added, her advice to Vermonters is to take the same precautions they would for any other back-to-school season germs: wash your hands often, stay home when you don’t feel well, and cough into your elbow or wear a mask if you are around others when you are sick.

“Those things sound incredibly simplistic, but they really can go a long way in both protecting yourself but then also protecting other people,” she said.

Read the story on VTDigger here: Whooping cough makes return to Vermont after pandemic hiatus .