More than 25,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported this year, while Kentucky records its third child death - ABC News

More than 25,000 cases of whooping cough have been reported in the United States so far this year, updated federal data show.

Kentucky has reported its third case of newborn death, with more than 25,000 cases of whooping cough this year.

In Louisiana and Washington, D.C., died from a severe cough.

More than 25,000 whooping cough cases have been reported in the U.S. so far this year, the latest federal data shows.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this is the second year of higher-than-usual cases.This year, around 33,000 cases have been reported.

The number of cases is well above pre-pandemic levels. About 18,600 cases of whooping cough were reported in 2019, CDC data show.

Except last year, the last time pertussis cases were this high was in 2014, when more than 32,900 cases were recorded, according to the CDC.

Meanwhile, doctors' visits for pertussis are trending down from the peak seen in winter of last year but still remain elevated compared to years prior, data from Epic Research shows.

Whooping cough, also known as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory illness caused by a bacteria called Bordetella pertussis, according to the CDC.

These bacteria attach to the cilia of the upper respiratory system and release toxins.The toxins damage cilia – small hair-like structures found on the surface of cells – and cause swelling of the upper respiratory tract.

The disease is especially dangerous to children and young children, and several deaths have been reported this year in Louisiana, Washington State and Kentucky.

Kentucky officials said three children, not all of whom had been vaccinated, had died from whooping cough in the past 12 months — the first whooping cough-related deaths in the state since 2018.

Overall, Kentucky is experiencing its highest number of cases since 2012, with 566 cases reported so far.

Whooping cough is spread from person to person through coughing and sneezing.Infected people can be contagious for weeks without knowing they have whooping cough.

Initial symptoms are often cold-like — runny nose, cough and low-grade fever — and usually last one to two weeks.However, symptoms progress to rapid, severe bouts of coughing that last up to 12 weeks.

Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, and early treatment can reduce the severity of the infection.Most whooping cough symptoms can be managed at home, according to the CDC.

The whooping cough vaccine was introduced in the late 1940s and since then the number of annual cases has dropped dramatically, down more than 90% compared to the pre-vaccine era.

Pre-Vaccine - According to the CDC, there are about 9,000 deaths among children each year, and estimates are made.

There are two types of vaccinations used today to prevent whooping cough: for children up to age 7 and against tetanus, and for adults and pregnant women.

But pertussis vaccination rates have steadily declined over the past year, according to CDC data.

Only 92.1% of kindergarteners had cough in the 20120-24-2020 school year compared to 25% in the 20120-24-2020 school year.