HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — As cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, reach new peaks across the United States, Alabama health officials confirm cases of the contagious illness have been confirmed in several students across the Tennessee Valley region.
Pertussis is an illness caused by bacteria and is spread by close contact with an infected individual. Officials with the Alabama Department of Public health say cases have more than tripled over the past year - from 41 cases in 2023 to 124 this year.
Of those, health officials have detected four "outbreaks" of cases among students in Jackson, Lauderdale, Limestone, and Madison Counties, although they did not specify numbers for each county.
The disease begins with common cold symptoms and can progress to a severe but intermittent cough that can last up to three months, officials say. Not every person exposed to pertussis will develop the disease. Whooping cough is usually only spread during the first 21 days of infection in most people. Treatment is a short five-day antibiotic course that ADPH says is well-tolerated.
Most individuals do not suffer life-threatening complications from pertussis infections, but some may, including those with compromised immune systems as well as young infants.
A vaccine for pertussis is given during childhood as a component of the DTaP vaccine. Five doses are required for entry into school in the state unless an exemption is obtained.
The vaccine does provide some protection against the disease; however, this protection wanes over time and a booster dose (TdaP) is required before entry into the sixth grade.
Per ADPH, the following are considered significant exposures:
- Being a household member,
- Attending or working in the same childcare setting,
- Receiving a cough or sneeze in the face,
- Performing a medical examination of the mouth, nose or throat,
- Sitting at adjacent desks or the same table at school, or
- Sharing a confined space with an infectious person for more than one hour