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Louisiana is on track to break previous whooping cough case record

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5 months ago

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Louisiana is on track to break previous whooping cough case record


Louisiana is facing a record-breaking surge of whooping cough cases and is on track to surpass the highest number of reported cases in decades, state health officials said Wednesday.

The state has data on whooping cough, also known as pertussis, going back to the 1990s, said Teresa Sokol, state epidemiologist at the Department of Health. Previously, the highest case count was 214 cases in 2013.

“Our current trajectory with whooping cough cases this year means that we are unfortunately on track to surpass that number of cases, probably before the end of this year,” Sokol said.

During a press conference that incoming LDH Secretary Bruce Greenstein said was about transparency and protecting the public’s health, officials shared updates on both the measles and whooping cough outbreaks. While the state has successfully contained measles, whooping cough cases continue to rise, posing a significant risk to infants too young to be fully vaccinated.

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Whooping cough cases rise

As of Wednesday, the state reported 170 whooping cough cases in 2025, surpassing the total of 153 cases recorded in all of last year. Since September 2024, the outbreak has led to 42 hospitalizations, with nearly 70% involving infants under one year old. Two infants have died, marking the first fatalities in Louisiana since 2018.

Newborns are especially vulnerable to whooping cough because they have immature immune systems, said Dr. Margot Anderson, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Tulane University. In older kids, the virus is usually an “annoyance,” but its lengthy contagious period makes it easy to spread.

“We used to call it the 100-day cough,” said Anderson. “They’re contagious for at least three weeks of coughing.”

Infants get their first pertussis vaccine at 2 months. To protect them, Anderson recommended what’s known as “cocooning” – keeping infants away from others until they get their first shot. She also recommended a booster shot during pregnancy to give the baby antibodies.

Five of the 42 hospitalized pertussis patients were vaccinated. Six had an unknown vaccination rate, and the remaining 31 were undervaccinated or unvaccinated.

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One in three babies under the age of one who get whooping cough will be hospitalized, said Sokol.

“The younger the baby is, the more likely they’re going to have a severe illness,” she said.

Anyone who is going to be around the infant in early days, such as grandparents or siblings, should be up to date on the pertussis vaccine, which is given as part of the DTaP vaccine for children and the Tdap vaccine for adolescents and adults. Those vaccinecs also protect against diphtheria and tetanus.

It’s likely that whooping cough is going undetected in the state due to less frequent testing, said Sokol. Though Louisiana’s overall case rate for pertussis is lower than the national average, the rate of severe cases requiring hospitalization is significantly higher, at 15% compared to a national average of 5%.

Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham said Louisiana residents should consult health care providers if there are any concerns about a child’s health. He advised parents to seek medical attention if a child has symptoms like high fever, not eating, not drinking, or decreased urinary output.

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“I would recommend talking to your health care provider if you have questions about your immunity to these diseases, because there are tests we can do to check your immunity,” Abraham said.

For those who do not have a regular health provider, Abraham recommended visiting a parish health unit.

Measles cases closed

On May 9, Louisiana closed the investigation that stemmed from a travel-related measles case in the New Orleans area in mid-April. One additional case was found through contact tracing, but that case was already past the incubation period when it was identified. According to Dr. Pete Croughan, 75 people were exposed, about half of whom were health care workers.

Two high-risk contacts received post-exposure drugs that are typically given to people who are unvaccinated, “which almost certainly prevented additional cases,” Croughan said.

These cases coincide with a national uptick, with over 1,000 confirmed measles cases across 31 states by early May, the highest annual total since 2019.

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Approximately 96% of these cases have occurred in unvaccinated or under-vaccinated individuals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Some parents have asked about giving their children an early measles vaccine before the typical timeline of one year. Anderson advised that since there is no evidence of active spread of measles within the state, early vaccination is generally not necessary, except in cases where a child may travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks.

Recent state policy changes have reduced proactive vaccine promotion, ending mass vaccination events like flu shot fairs and instructing public health employees to direct residents to their health care providers rather than actively recommending vaccines.

Abraham said he would not consider holding vaccine events for pertussis, but said the department was promoting the vaccine on its website, urging residents to speak with their physicians.

Access is a problem Anderson often sees in hospitalized patients with vaccine-preventable diseases.

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“We were so interested in this problem of vaccine refusers or skeptics, but oftentimes it’s that they live in Tickfaw, or somewhere really rural, and don’t have transportation,” she said.



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Louisiana

Louisiana passes law allowing state park rangers to enforce littering laws anywhere in state

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1 week ago

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September 23, 2025

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Louisiana passes law allowing state park rangers to enforce littering laws anywhere in state


BATON ROUGE – Louisiana passed a state law allowing state park rangers to enforce state litter laws anywhere in Louisiana.

The increased enforcement comes alongside revamped reinforcement efforts with a hotline. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will field hotline calls and pass information to state park rangers, who if given proper information, can issue a citation.

Simple littering, such as trash flying out the back of a pickup truck, carries up to $175 in fines plus court costs. Intentional littering, such as deliberately throwing trash out of a window onto a roadway, brings up to a $250 fine. Gross littering, such as depositing large amounts of trash into a ditch or having an illegal dumpsite, carries $500 to $1,000 in fines.

Officials say crimes such as dumping violations have more in-depth processes; anyone interested can find more information at the Keep Louisiana Beautiful website.

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This Week in Southeastern Athletics – September 15-21, 2025 – Southeastern Louisiana University Athletics

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2 weeks ago

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September 14, 2025

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This Week in Southeastern Athletics – September 15-21, 2025 – Southeastern Louisiana University Athletics


This Week in Southeastern Athletics – September 15-21, 2025
Monday, September 15
Golf | at Grover Page Classic | Memphis, Tenn. | 8:15 a.m.
Football | Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo | Brady’s | 7 p.m. | Kajun 107.1 FM | The Highway 104.7 FM | The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM
            – Community Spotlight Guest: Scott Henderson, The Salad Station/Tommy’s on                                 
             Thomas
 
Tuesday, September 16
Golf | at Grover Page Classic | Memphis, Tenn. | 8:15 a.m.
 
Thursday, September 18

Volleyball | at Texas A&M (Texas A&M Invitational) | College Station, Texas | 6 p.m.
 
Friday, September 19

Volleyball | vs. LMU (Texas A&M Invitational) | College Station, Texas | 3 p.m.
 
Saturday, September 20
Football | at LSU | Baton Rouge | SEC Network | SEC Network | Kajun 107.1 FM | The Highway 104.7 FM | The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM

Volleyball | vs. New Hampshire (Texas A&M Invitational) | College Station, Texas | Noon
 
Sunday, September 21
Soccer | at UTRGV | Edinburg, Texas | 1 p.m. | ESPN+*

Southeastern home events in bold | All times Central | * – Southland Conference event

 

HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University football and two-time defending Southland Conference champion volleyball team hit the road for nonconference play, the SLU soccer team opens Southland Conference play, the Lion men’s golf team opens the fall portion of its 2025-26 schedule and Southeastern Athletics will compete in the university’s Giving Day during this week in Southeastern Athletics.

 

The SLU football team (2-1) will close out nonconference play at No. 3 LSU. Saturday’s game will kickoff at 6:45 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.

 

The Southeastern volleyball team (5-3) will close out an eight-match road swing this week, heading to College Station, Texas to compete in the Texas A&M Invitational. The Lady Lions will face host Texas A&M Thursday at 6 p.m., Loyola Marymount Friday at 3 p.m. and New Hampshire Saturday at noon during the tournament.

 

The SLU women’s soccer team (1-4-2) will open league play on the road this week. Southeastern will face new league member UTRGV Sunday at 1 p.m. in Edinburg, Texas.

 

The Lion golf team opens the 2025-26 season this week. Southeastern will head to Memphis, Tenn. to compete in the Grover Page Classic Monday and Tuesday.

 

Southeastern Giving Day is set for Wednesday and is an opportunity to give back to the university, including Southeastern Athletics. Visit www.southeasterngivingday.org for more information.

 

On the Air

This week’s football game will be televised on SEC Network, while Thursday’s volleyball match will air on SEC Network+. Sunday’s soccer match can be seen on ESPN+.

 

The 2025 season of Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo will continue Monday at 7 p.m. at Brady’s in downtown Hammond. Scelfo and host Allen Waddell will discuss all things Lion football on the hour-long show weekly during the season, which airs on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 97.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).

 

Scott Henderson of The Salad Station and Tommy’s on Thomas will be Monday’s Community Spotlight Guest.

 

The same Southeastern Sports Radio Network stations will broadcast Saturday’s football game.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

For more information on Southeastern Athletics, follow @LionUpAthletics on X and Instagram or like /LionUpAthletics on Facebook.

 

CLEAR BAG POLICY

Southeastern Athletics has instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.

 

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Louisiana’s Win Streak Snapped After Hard-Fought Battle at Ole Miss

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3 weeks ago

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September 13, 2025

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Louisiana’s Win Streak Snapped After Hard-Fought Battle at Ole Miss


OXFORD, Miss. – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Volleyball team had the momentum in its favor each of the first two sets before Ole Miss battled back and went on to post a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-22, 25-19) on Friday, September 12 at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center in Oxford, Mississippi.

The Rebels (4-3) leaned upon 16 kills each time to overcome the pressure from the Ragin’ Cajuns (6-2) and open a 2-0 match lead. Then in Set 3, Ole Miss hit .400 and sided out at 80 percent to end the contest early.

Louisiana put itself in position to be the ones ahead 2-0 in the match, tied 13-13 midway through Set 1 and laying hold to a 17-13 advantage late in Set 2. Ultimately the offensive edge for Ole Miss, which held a 45-29 edge in kills and .391 to .176 advantage in hitting percentage for the match, paid dividends.

Both sides had balanced scoring, the Ragin’ Cajuns led by nine kills from Cailin Demps and seven kills from Grace Sweeney. The Rebels, though, were able to have four players score more than five kills led by the trio of Shayla Meyer (10), Melia Johnson (9) and Gabi Placide (9) each reaching nine scores.

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The loss snapped Louisiana’s three-match win streak, the squad ending a five-match road swing with a 3-2 mark.

Ole Miss claimed victory in its 2025 season home opener and remained unbeaten in the 2000s against UL.

Jazmine Gaston scored a kill on each of her first two swings in Set 1 as the Cajuns remained ahead early 9-7 after taking the lead at 4-3 on a Kennedy Gustafson ace.

The teams were near even with five kills apiece and both hitting .300-plus through the 13-all tie. Meyer helped the Rebels make the decisive move, scoring the tiebreaking kill and serving up an ace to gain separation for good.

Sweeney asserted herself at the onset of Set 2, scoring two aces and a kill in a personal 3-0 run that pulled Louisiana ahead 4-1, then preserved the lead with yet another early kill to make it 9-7.

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Later on, Sweeney teamed up with Harley Krause on back-to-back winners as the Cajuns stretched the lead out to 17-13. The Rebels, though, reversed course as a kill, ace and block all in succession ignited a 12-5 set-ending run that prevented Louisiana from evening the match.

With a kill on each of its first three swings in Set 3 the Rebels quickly opened a 5-3 lead and led the rest of the way. Demps, who scored five kills in the frame, began to find her groove getting two kills over a span of five rallies keeping the Cajuns within striking distance at 15-11.

Ole Miss sided out after a UL service error then came up with another timely block to advance the lead to 17-11. The teams traded side outs through Demps’ final kill of the night which made it 21-16 before the Rebels scored three straight for the final separation.

LEADING THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
Sweeney in Set 2 and Demps in Set 3 both turned in a five-kill set performance. The duo combined for 16 of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ 29 kills.

Demps’ output marked the eighth time in as many matches she’s scored at least nine kills.

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Freshman Lindsey Henry had a hand in both of the team’s blocks while Gustafson collected a team-leading eight digs.

Sweeney was a close second with six digs and setter Ryleigh Garis scooped five digs to go with her team-high tying 12 assists.

Chelsea Gilmore and Sweeney served up two aces apiece to pace the Ragin’ Cajuns to six aces.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin’ Cajuns return home to E.K. Long Gym for the Ragin’ Cajuns Classic scheduled for Friday-Saturday, September 19-20.

Louisiana hosts Southern and Nicholls in the round robin event, meeting the Jaguars on Friday (Sept. 19) at 6:00 p.m. and then matching up with the Colonels on Saturday (Sept. 20) at Noon.

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The Ragin’ Cajuns Classic marks the final non-conference matches of the 2025 season. Louisiana opens Sun Belt play the following weekend, September 26-27, on the road at Texas State.

FOLLOW THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin’ Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsVB [twitter.com]), Facebook (/RaginCajunsVB [facebook.com]) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsVB [instagram.com]) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Volleyball.

Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here [apps.apple.com] for iOS/Apple platforms and here [play.google.com] for Android platforms.





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