Pertussis cases increasing in Mississippi and across the country

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) -Cases of pertussis, known as whooping cough, are on the rise nationwide. And Mississippi has already seen more cases than all of last year.

“This year, I think it’s going to be one of our worst years,” said Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney.

Edney says whooping cough is most worrisome for five-year-olds and younger, especially infants.

“It causes infection of the bronchial tubes and causes swelling and inflammation,” he explained. “And it has that classic, you know, cough that whoop[s]. It’s even scarier than croup, so it’s a very dangerous infection.”

Here are the statistics: the Department of Health reports there were 43 confirmed cases in 2024. There have been 38 confirmed already this year with another 17 probable cases, totaling 55.

Dr. Tamina McMillan at TrustCare Kids, says she hasn’t seen it this year but notes that it can start with normal cold-like symptoms and quickly escalate.

“If you have a kid who’s coughing with secondary symptoms like color changes, vomiting after coughing, a really prolonged cough, then they should be evaluated,” explained McMillan.

Vaccination is considered the best form of prevention. But that protection does fade.

“A good way to protect against that is if you are in charge of being around younger people, like infants less than 12 months, then everyone who’s around that infant should be vaccinated. [It] is called the cocoon effect,” explained McMillan. “So, if you surround yourself with vaccinated adults, then the child will have improved immunity.”

‘What I do myself is, you know, when it’s time for my tetanus booster, I just do pertussis booster with it,” added Dr. Edney. “That mainly is to protect other infants and children that might be around me, that I’m not spreading pertussis to them, where it [would] be more dangerous.”

But Dr. Edney notes that it doesn’t stop the infection in its tracks, but it makes any cases mild and easier to treat.

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