Number of whooping cough cases declining in Arizona
Dec 31, 2018, 4:35 AM
(Pixabay Photo)
PHOENIX — Arizona has seen a sharp decline in whooping cough cases this year over last — and the past five.
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 211 cases in 2018
“And that’s compared to almost 400 in typical years,” said Jessica Rigler, assistant director for public health preparedness.
That’s well below the national numbers for the disease, which is also known as pertussis.
Rigler says more people must be getting vaccinated, especially as the department anticipated a whooping cough spike this year.
“So, we’ll see these big peaks every five years or so, followed by much lower case numbers,” she said. “The last peak we saw in Arizona was in 2013.”
About 95 percent of whooping cough cases happen in children under age 1. They can be vaccinated, and older kids and adults can get one-time boosters.