As whooping cough cases rise, newborns most at risk, experts say

[riversedge]

Source: upi




By I. Edwards, HealthDay News Oct. 4, 2025 / 2:33 PM


When someone has whooping cough, the sound can be unmistakable: A deep, gasping "whoop" as they struggle to catch their breath between fits of coughing.

Now, this once-rare illness, also known as pertussis, is making a comeback across the United States.


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"Pertussis symptoms are different in infants," said lead author Dr. Caitlin Li, an infectious diseases specialist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and assistant professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "The characteristic whooping cough may be absent, but apnea, or breathing interruption, is common."

In infants, pertussis may also cause extremely high white blood cell counts, or leukocytosis, which can be mistaken for cancer or other serious conditions..................


Read more: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2025/10/04/whooping-cough-pertussis-comeback/7191759596252/

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moonbreeze @moonbreeze2
As whooping cough cases rise, newborns most at risk, experts say

"Given that infants are at high risk for complications, pertussis vaccination of mothers during pregnancy is critical, as it protects newborns against this potentially fatal illness,"

Link to tweet

According to experts, a recent rise in whooping cough cases could be especially dangerous for newborns. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News

[markodochartaigh]

1. Whooping cough, it's not just for children.

If you are a senior ask your health care provider if you should get a tdap vaccination to protect yourself and any infants with whom you might have contact. From the CDC (ignore the inane political comment at the top):


https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/hcp/vaccine-recommendations/index.html#:~:text=Immunity%20to%20pertussis%20following%20Tdap,protection%20against%20tetanus%20and%20diphtheria.

[SunSeeker]

2. CDC's page proclaiming a "Democrat-led government shutdown" is a lie, and a Hatch Act violation!

[Irish_Dem]

3. Force women to give birth, then kill their infants with preventable diseases.

What kind of sick minds invent this torture?

[ananda]

5. It does seem kinda self-contradictory, doesn't it?

Especially if they want more babies.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

6. IGNORANCE is bliss with this crowd.

For the MAGA crowd believes if will affect Democrats more than Republicans.

Diseases do not discriminate.

[twodogsbarking]

4. Bring out your dead. Next up.

[barbtries]

7. A baby in MS has died from pertussis.

?si=keMn6y38o8dlAsHz

https://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/news/a-mississippi-infant-dies-from-pertussis-a-disease-commonly-known-as-whooping-cough/

Soon the graveyards will be full of tiny caskets thanks to anti-vaxxers, krasnov and rfk jr.

[CharleyDog]

8. This disease tortures patients

This is a terrible disease, patients cannot breathe and suffer as they gasp for each breath.
This is another disease to fear.

Entirely preventable.