According to the state’s Division of Public Health, Alaska has a high rate of cases of whooping cough, also called pertussis, this year. There have been 131 cases so far this year, compared to only 26 for all of 2023.
Joe McLaughlin, an epidemiologist with the division, said Alaska’s case numbers mirror a national trend.
“We have so far had over 100 cases of pertussis this year, which is more cases of pertussis than we’ve seen in a long time,” McLaughlin said. “And the hospitalization rate among young infants who get pertussis is quite high, so that’s concerning.”
With five more months left in the year, it’s possible Alaska is on track to have the highest cases of whooping cough in the decade. In 2016, Alaska had 149 cases.
Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that’s most risky for babies. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one third of babies under one who get whooping cough will be hospitalized for it and 1% of hospitalized babies will die from it. Infants can also have other complications like vomiting, seizures or rib fractures.
McLaughlin said the best way to protect infants is to vaccinate them and the adults around them. The cough spreads easily through the air and the CDC recommends everyone get vaccinated for pertussis, including pregnant women. McLaughlin said most whooping cough cases in Alaska are among children who aren’t up to date with vaccinations.
Whooping cough starts with mild cold-like symptoms like a low fever, cough, and stuffy nose. The cough may linger for months and, especially in babies, children, and the elderly, it can become more severe.
“They’ll cough and cough and cough and cough, and then they’ll go through, oftentimes, an apneic period where they actually stop breathing, sometimes for 20 seconds or longer, and then they’ll take this big respiratory whoop-like inhale,” McLaughlin said.
That whoop-like inhale is how the cough got its name.
McLaughlin said if Alaskans are sick with cold-like symptoms this summer it’s most likely COVID, but it also could be whooping cough. He said healthcare practitioners can test for both, and people who have whooping cough can get treated with antibiotics. The earlier people get tested and treated, he said, the better.
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Rachel Cassandra covers health and wellness for Alaska Public Media. Reach her atrcassandra@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Rachel here.
