A baby has died of whooping cough in Alaska amid a deadly resurgence of the Victorian-era disease.
This bacterial infection, medically known as whooping cough, was a common childhood illness in the early 20th century, but the arrival of a vaccine in the 1940s virtually eradicated it in the United States.
But record numbers of children are not being vaccinated, fueling outbreaks in several states, including Alaska, where officials say “epidemic” levels have been reached.
Details about the baby who died, including his gender, name and hometown, have not been made public to protect the family’s privacy.
Babies younger than three months are at especially high risk of contracting whooping cough (file image)
Whooping cough can cause “coughing fits” that last for months, along with fever, shortness of breath and congestion.
The vaccine is usually given to babies at two months of age, but pregnant women can receive it during the last trimester to pass immunity to their babies. Children should receive booster doses every ten years.
Without these booster shots, immunity gradually declines and these children become more susceptible to bacterial infection.
State epidemiologists blame this decline in immunity, as well as reluctance to take vaccines following the Covid pandemic, for causing the highest rate of infections since 2016.
But shortly after reporting the death on Sept. 11, health officials renewed calls for the public to vaccinate their infants and booster shots for their older children.
In the United States, more than 10,000 cases are detected each year and up to 20 babies die from it.
As of Friday, the 2024 case count had reached 234, according to CDC tracking. Trends suggest the year-end total could surpass 2023’s 624.
More than four times as many cases of whooping cough have been reported up to week 33 of this year, 17 August 2024, compared to the same period in 2023.
State epidemiologist Dr. Joe McLaughlin said about 70 percent of the cases have been in children under 15 and 12 percent in infants. Of that 12 percent, Dr. McLaughlin said, 45 percent have been hospitalized.
He said Speaking of Alaska On Tuesday: ‘And just for context, we had 149 reported cases in 2016, and that was the highest year in the last eight years.’
The term “wheeze” in whooping cough refers to the sound children make after a coughing fit as they struggle to breathe.
Whooping cough cases have increased especially sharply in babies under one year of age. Parents are advised to vaccinate their babies when they are around two months old.
The bacteria Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis cause infection by attaching to the tiny hair-like structures that extend from the lining of the upper respiratory tract, which includes the nasal passages, sinuses, throat, and larynx.
From there, the bacteria release toxins that damage the hair-like structures and cells that line the respiratory tract.
Mucus builds up, the airways swell, and the body struggles to clear them through violent coughing, the hallmark symptom of infection.
The infection is highly contagious and spreads through the air when a person coughs, sneezes and talks. It is more contagious than influenza and, in a population that has not been sufficiently vaccinated, a single case It can carry another 17 in about three weeks.
Alaska’s current caseload is the highest the state has seen in nine years.
Life-threatening complications are most common in infants younger than one year of age, and about one-third of infected infants are hospitalized.
Sixty-eight percent of babies will experience sudden pauses in breathing, known as apnea, and 22 percent will develop pneumonia. One percent will die.
Dr. McLaughlin sayingCurrent pertussis vaccines are highly effective, especially during the first three to five years after vaccination, but immunity gradually declines over time.
According to Kathy Bell, health director for the Anchorage School District, more than 1,200 students out of approximately 44,000 have been… exempt from vaccination requirements, mainly for religious reasons.
She said: “It’s an individual choice. We can’t force people to get vaccinated. But vaccines were developed for a reason.”
The rising rate of new whooping cough infections is not limited to Alaska. This year alone, the United States has recorded more than 7,000 cases of whooping cough. A 300 percent increase during the same period in 2023.
In 2024, Pennsylvania and California had the most cases, 1,035 and 702, respectively.
Cases have also been identified in every US state except Wyoming this year.
