Asia-Pacific Newsweek
Health authorities reported at least 364 cases of whooping cough infections last week, making it the worst Thanksgiving week for whooping cough in recent decades, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This breaks the Thanksgiving record of 228 pertussis cases reported during the week ending November 27, 2010.
Reported case numbers for most illnesses typically decrease during Thanksgiving because of delays in testing and reporting and changes in the number of medical visits during the holiday.
But this year's whooping cough wave This week, the epidemic continued to accelerate in several states, including Ohio, which reported 84 cases. That's the most of any state and more than the 67 whooping cough cases Ohio reported the previous week.
“Pertussis can be cyclical. Over the past few years, the number of reported cases nationwide has decreased during and following the COVID-19 pandemic, and pertussis is now returning to pre-pandemic trends. Ohio is no exception, “A spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Health said in a statement.
An Ohio spokesman said this year's growth is “consistent with previous years.” Severe special infectious pneumonia pandemic”, but has not exceeded the total number of cases reported in 2013.
Although the total number of cases nationwide remains below some previous records, the number of cases reported per week before Thanksgiving reached 577, more than 10 times the number during the same period last year and the worst in at least a decade.
health officials cited many factors This year's wave of whooping cough cases includes gaps in immunity from vaccination or previous infection, as well as a switch to safer but less effective vaccines in the 1990s.
“We have to acknowledge that vaccination rates among school-age children in Montgomery County are low. Vaccination rates have dropped since the pandemic and are lower than in Ohio and lower than in the United States,” said Becky, medical director of the Montgomery County Health Department in Ohio. Dr. Thomas said.
In Ohio, Montgomery County, while not the state's most populous county, has accounted for the largest share of cases reported in recent months.
Thomas said about 63% of cases were in school children and 12% in day care centres. The department usually first detects an outbreak from a school nurse, who warns about the large numbers of kids getting sick from whooping cough.
Thomas says The doctor has The number of whooping cough cases has been high for months, with more cases than last year.
“We had an increase in cases last fall, but not an increase compared to this fall,” Thomas said. “When we first started noticing a really significant increase, it was around the time kids were going back to school, so around eight. Mid-month.
Thomas said the vast majority of reported cases in the county say they were vaccinated against whooping cough, but it's unclear whether everyone is up to date on their vaccinations. One-third of cases occur in adolescents, who are recommended to receive a booster dose at age 12 years.
“We have specific data on vaccination records for students entering seventh grade that show a decrease in vaccination rates for tetanus, whooping cough, and pertussis vaccines that they are supposed to come into school for,” Thomas said.
Health departments are bracing for a return of whooping cough amid a surge this year. expected wave COVID-19 and influenza infections this winter.
“Whooping cough is not the only respiratory disease we are concerned about. Therefore, we encourage people to stay home if they are sick, practice good hand hygiene, and seek help from a health care provider if needed. If symptoms worsen or are severe, of course get vaccinated vaccine,” county health department commissioner Jennifer Wentzel said.
