Pertussis Cases Continue to Increase in Washington State

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is alerting residents to a significant increase in reported cases of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough. As of November 2; 1,193 cases have been reported statewide, a sharp increase from just 51 cases reported this time last year. Whooping cough has been reported in 31 counties across the state, with Chelan, Clark, and Whitman counties seeing the highest rates.

Whooping cough (pertussis) is a highly contagious bacterial infection that may begin with common cold symptoms such as runny nose but can lead to severe coughing fits that can last for weeks or even months.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that only approximately 10% of pertussis infections are identified and reported to public health.

Visit the CDC’s website for more information on symptoms. If you believe you have whooping cough, contact your healthcare provider.

It is important for child care providers to make sure that:

• all staff who work with infants are strongly encouraged to receive a Tdap booster vaccine.
• all children have current Certificate of Immunization Status (CIS) forms on record and that they are current on their pertussis (DTaP) vaccine.
• child cares that have children who have personal, religious, or medical exemptions to DTaP have a list of all children who are exempt. This list must be kept per HIPAA requirements and be available quickly should a case show up in the child care.

Vaccination (DTaP or Tdap vaccines) protect against pertussis.  More information on Pertussis can be found from:

• Snohomish County Health Department (9/16/2024) 
• Washington State Department of Health (11/7/2024)
• Weekly update on pertussis activity statewide