According to the Centers for Disease Control, as of writing this article, the state of Louisiana has reported 387 cases of whooping cough since the beginning of the year, which is the worst the amount of cases there have been in 35 years. Amongst these statistics, there have been two infant deaths due to this disease.
Whooping cough is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. The bacteria attaches to the cells lining the upper respiratory tract. Symptoms can take anywhere between five days and three weeks to develop. Early symptoms resemble that of a common cold, including runny nose, low-grade fever and mild cough.
Babies who are afflicted may not cough, but lack the ability to breathe altogether.
Later symptoms of infection include long and frequent coughing fits, vomiting, losing energy and not being able to sleep due to these fits. Infection with whooping cough can also leave an individual vulnerable to other respiratory infections.
Whooping cough is usually treated with antibiotics, but more severe cases should be brought to a hospital. There is also a vaccine available for this disease.
Not only have the cases reached a new high in the past 35 years, Louisiana officials have not been vocal about the recent outbreak. Typically, when an outbreak like this occurs, the state’s government will notify healthcare providers across the state of the surge in cases.
The infants that died as a result of whooping cough passed in late January. The Louisiana Department of Health waited until March to suggest via a social media post that citizens get vaccinated, and until May to issue a health alert or release any information on an outbreak to Louisiana physicians.
Some believe that cases could have been prevented if it weren’t for the Department of Health’s negligence. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, stated, “Particularly for these childhood diseases, we usually jump all over these. These are preventable diseases and preventable deaths.”
With no further warnings from the state, cases continued to climb over the summer, and are continuing to climb in the fall months. Officials studying infectious diseases have shown concern for this negligence towards the rising numbers.
In regards to disease avoidance, Abraar Karan, an infectious diseases instructor at Stanford University, stated, “At minimum, it should be like heavy promotion of, ‘Hey, infants are at high risk. They get infected by people who have waning immunity. If you haven’t gotten vaccinated, get vaccinated. If you have these symptoms, get tested.’” Time spent without warning of the disease is time wasted that could have been used to prevent cases from occurring.
Even with vaccination, babies are the most prone to the disease due to their underdeveloped immune systems and inability to receive the vaccine. These reasons are why it is important for the community to be notified of an outbreak so that they can give more care and attention to their infants.
Whooping cough is currently a highly infectious disease here in Louisiana. It is very important that health care providers notify and are notified of the increasing numbers not just for this outbreak, but for any outbreak. If an individual thinks they are afflicted with whooping cough, they should seek medical care immediately, and should avoid people with weaker immune systems, such as infants.