CDC Reports Sudden Uptick of Whooping Cough Cases in Missouri

Not to sound an alarm, but it's worth noting that there definitely is an uptick in cases of the whooping cough in Missouri with numbers confirmed by the Center for Disease Control.

The first report that got my attention was a bulletin from the CDC regarding Pertussis (whooping cough) surveillance for the week of October 5, 2024. Here are their exact words:

"Preliminary data show that more than five times as many cases have been reported as of week 40, reported on October 5, 2024, compared to the same time in 2023"

That led me to a check of what's happening in Missouri and, sure enough, there are suddenly 5 cases of whooping cough in the state of Missouri just over the past 7 days.

I then began to look at what's happening in other parts of the Midwest and saw that Wisconsin and Michigan are also reporting new cases of whooping cough there. Wisconsin said the rise in whooping cough cases there were "significant".

There have also been 40 recent cases of whooping cough in Oklahoma, too.

This is all concerning considering how dangerous whooping cough is for young children and babies where it can result in "pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and death". It's also highly contagious so the new cases in Missouri and neighboring states is something to keep an eye on if not outright sounding the alarms.