Overview
- CDC data place this year’s pertussis count well above 2019’s 18,600, marking a second straight elevated year and the highest levels since roughly 2014.
- Kentucky reports 566 cases as of Nov. 19 and three infant deaths within 12 months, the state’s first whooping cough fatalities since 2018.
- State officials said none of the infants who died—or their mothers—had received pertussis vaccination.
- Health authorities cite reduced vaccine uptake, shorter-lived protection from acellular vaccines, expanded PCR detection, and slower public-health tracking as key factors in the surge.
- Officials urge on-time DTaP for children and Tdap during each pregnancy, early testing and treatment, and continued surveillance for emerging macrolide antibiotic resistance.