More than 364 cases of severe whooping cough were reported to health officials last week, according to data published last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the worst Thanksgiving time for highly contagious infections in recent decades.

This figure tops the previous Thanksgiving record of 228 cases of pertussis, which were reported for the week ending November 27, 2010. That year, 27,550 cases were reported by the end of 2010, down from 28,167 cases already so far this year.

Whooping cough cases are increasing in various states

According to experts, Thanksgiving typically sees a slowdown in reported cases of most diseases due to delays in testing and reporting around the holiday, as well as changes in people visiting the doctor.

However, this year, whooping cough – also known as pertussis – is a common respiratory illness, with numbers increasing in most states. Generally, doctors say whooping cough is difficult to identify because its symptoms are similar to those of other respiratory bacteria and viruses, which often spread at the same time as whooping cough.

An Ohio spokesperson said, “Pertussis can be cyclical. Nationally, after seeing a low number of reported cases over the past few years during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, pertussis is no longer -Pandemic trends are returning. Ohio is no different.” The health department said in a statement.

Officials say this year’s increase is “in line with some years before the COVID-19 pandemic” and is still above the total number of cases recorded in 2013.

What is whooping cough?

Doctors say that the infection starts with symptoms like runny nose, mild fever and tickling cough. After a week or two, it moves into a new phase, causing an intense cough throughout the body.

These coughing attacks can be so severe that they cause the patient to vomit or break ribs, and are often accompanied by wheezing sounds when the person tries to breathe. Babies with pertussis do not cough but may have difficulty breathing. This includes conditions such as apnea – when their breathing is interrupted. Whooping cough can cause serious, life-threatening complications in infants.

Signs and symptoms of whooping cough

The initial symptoms of whooping cough are exactly like the common cold. These symptoms last for one to two weeks and may include:

• mild fever
• frequent cough
• runny nose
• respiratory failure in infants
• prolonged, frequent, or severe coughing
• Wheezing sound while breathing after coughing stops
• vomit
• Exhaustion

Doctors say that pertussis symptoms begin to subside after four weeks, although coughing may continue for several months after symptoms begin.

What is the reason for the increase in whooping cough cases?

According to health officials, there are several factors that have led to an increase in whooping cough cases this year, including a lag in immunity from vaccination or prior infection and a switch to safer but less effective vaccines in the 1990s.

“We have to acknowledge that our vaccination rates in Montgomery County for school-age children are low. They have decreased since the pandemic, and they are lower than the state of Ohio and even lower than the United States,” Dr. said Becky Thomas, medical director of the Montgomery County Department of Health. Within Ohio, Montgomery County has had the largest share of reported cases in recent months, despite not having the most people in the state.

doctor says antibiotics The infection can be treated, but only if it is diagnosed within the first few weeks, before the tiring, painful cough occurs. Then, the only treatment is supportive care, including plenty of rest and fluids, while the infection continues to run its course.

According to experts, the increase in whooping cough this year has also come as health departments are preparing for an expected COVID-19 wave and the return of flu infections this winter.

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