SALEM, OR -- Deschutes County reports 15 cases of Pertussis so far this year; Jefferson County has had eight. They’re among nine Oregon counties with outbreaks of what’s commonly called Whooping Cough, prompting the Oregon Health Authority to issue warnings to parents.

"We’re really seeing a rapid increase in cases," says Dr. Paul Cieslak, Oregon Health Authority’s Medical Director for Communicable Diseases. Statewide, the OHA has received reports of 178 cases of Pertussis. At this point last year, there were just 20. Once it’s in the community, Pertussis spreads fast. "It’s often the cough that doesn’t go away," says Dr. Cieslak, "You thought you had a cold; your cough usually lasts a couple weeks when you have a cold and this one’s been going on for a month."

The respiratory illness took a hiatus during COVID, dropping to record lows. "And now," says Dr. Cieslak, "I think we’re seeing two things. Number one: they’re kind of rebounding back, just because people are getting together again. And, we may be seeing the start of one of our peak years." He says peak years are part of the cycle, as immunity ebbs and flows.

While most people get over Pertussis after it runs its cours, it can be especially dangerous - even deadly - for babies. Cieslak says, "Infants have very tiny airways. And if they get any gunk in the airways or they are coughing so much that it’s hard for them to take a deep breath, they can get into respiratory trouble real fast." He adds, "They’re the ones that tend to get hospitalized. We’ve seen five deaths from Pertussis, also known as Whooping Cough, in Oregon over the past 20 years. But a lot more infants have been hospitalized with it." 

The CDC recommends infants receive their first vaccination against Pertussis at two months old, but a second round at four months and a third at six months are needed to reach strong immunity. Boosters are given to toddlers and pre-schoolers. According to the OHA, 92 of the state’s 178 Pertussis cases are school-aged children and only about half of them are up to date on their Pertussis vaccinations. 

While newborns are too young to be fully vaccinated, Dr. Cieslak says families can take preventative steps, "One of the most important measures that we have to protect these very young infants is for pregnant women to get vaccinated at 27 to 36 weeks gestation," says Cieslak, "They will make the antibodies and then pass them across the placenta to the baby, and baby will have protection right at the time of birth. And that’s what we really want to see happening."

If someone gets Whooping Cough in a household with an infant, the OHA recommends everyone receive a course of antibiotics.