Doctors warn US teenagers are spreading Victorian-era disease that can kill infants

Cases of a Victorian-era childhood disease are reaching record levels across the US – and high school students are ‘super-spreaders’.

Whooping cough has caused 16,000 infections so far this year, a five-fold increase from the same period last year, and two deaths, according to CDC data.

The increase has been blamed on falling vaccination rates after the Covid pandemic – officials recommend that every baby receive their first shot at two months old.

Doctors in Minnesota, which recorded 100 cases last week, say high school students whose vaccines have worn off and haven’t received their booster shots could spread the disease to their younger siblings, fueling the outbreak.

Health officials have warned that whooping cough, extremely dangerous for young children and adolescents, is on the rise nationwide (stock image)

The map above from the Minnesota Department of Health shows the cluster where an increase in pertussis cases is located. Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, had the highest number of cases with 376

The Minnesota Department of Health told local news station KSTP: “MN is seeing a significant burden among school-aged children, which is when adolescent pertussis vaccine begins to decline .

“With such a high number of cases, it is very important that individuals ensure they are up to date on their whooping cough vaccinations, get tested and treated when their cough begins, and stay at home while they are contagious.”

The CDC recommends that babies receive the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine at two, four, six and 15-18 months of age.

Children aged four to six are also recommended to be vaccinated.

The agency says preteens ages 11 to 12 should also be vaccinated against whooping cough, and the vaccine is recommended every 10 years thereafter.

The Tdap vaccine is 98 percent effective in children within a year of their last dose. In adolescents, the vaccine is 73 percent effective in the first year and 34 percent effective four years after vaccination.

But fewer people succeed.

The latest data from the CDC shows that during the 2021 to 2022 school year, pertussis vaccination rates among kindergartners dropped from 95 percent the previous year to 93 percent.

While that may seem like a small drop, researchers caution that even tiny drops in absorption allow the ultra-infectious virus to spread.

Whooping cough occurs when bacteria attaches to tiny hairs in the throat and nose and releases toxins that cause the airways to swell.

At first, it may cause mild symptoms like a runny nose or mild cough, but it can progress to coughing so violently that it causes many patients to vomit and develop breathing problems.

Dr. Liz Placzek, pediatrician and medical director at Children’s Minnesota West St Paul, told KSTP, “Typically, whooping cough starts as a cold virus. We see snotty nose, we see cough, maybe fever.

“Those symptoms may improve a little bit, but then we see this cough, this deep, persistent cough that just keeps going and going.”

According to the latest data from the CDC, 15,661 cases of whooping cough have been reported so far this year, compared to 3,635 at the same time last year.

Before the introduction of the whooping cough vaccine in 1948, the United States had up to 250,000 cases of whooping cough per year. Cases have steadily declined by more than 90 percent each year compared to the pre-vaccine era, the CDC says.

The lowest recorded rate of whooping cough was in 1976, when the United States had only 1,010 cases.

Health officials have warned that it is initially difficult to distinguish the infection from a cold, because the first signs are a runny nose and sore throat. But about a week later, patients may develop coughing fits that last a few minutes, have trouble breathing after coughing, and make a “scream” between coughs.

Polly Deehy (pictured left in hospital) from the UK had to be placed in a coma for 10 days after contracting whooping cough. And at just one month old, Rosie Robin from the UK (pictured right) was hospitalized for two weeks with the illness.

Spike (left with his parents), a 16-year-old British man, contracted whooping cough at just 11 days old, when he was too young to be vaccinated. Despite a miraculous recovery as a baby (right), he suffered permanent brain damage.

Minnesota has recorded 1,019 cases so far this year, a nearly 17-fold increase from 2023.

According to Department of Health data, the cases are all concentrated in the southeastern part of the state.

Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, had the highest number of cases at 376. Wright County, directly northwest of Hennepin County, had 106.

In southwest Hennepin County, Carver County, 95 cases have been reported so far this year.

Dr. Placzek said the increase could be due to vaccines disappearing from high school students who received them as children. The Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine lasts for 10 years, after which the CDC recommends getting a booster.

She said: “It’s not lifelong immunity. »

More parents may also choose not to vaccinate their children due to hesitancy to get vaccinated during the pandemic era.

The CDC also noted that the bacteria that causes whooping cough, Bordetella pertussis, is prone to mutations, which could make it able to evade vaccines.