Whooping cough cases nearly doubled in New Mexico in 2024, and account for 60 of the total cases nationwide, as of Oct. 26.
The majority of cases were reported in the Albuquerque metro area, but all regions of the state have reported at least one since this summer, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.
There were more than five times as many whooping cough — also known as pertussis — cases in the United States than there were in the same time period last year, as of Oct. 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC expected whooping cough cases to increase both in unvaccinated and vaccinated populations as case numbers return to pre-pandemic levels.
“When everybody was taking precautions to prevent the spread of respiratory pathogens in general, many of the other respiratory diseases or infections decreased,” Deputy State Epidemiologist for New Mexico Department of Health Dr. Chad Smelser said.
What is whooping cough?
Early symptoms sometimes appear as a common cold, Smelser said, including an occasional cough, stuffy nose and a low grade fever. A child should see a physician if it progresses to waves of many coughs in a row, followed by trouble breathing and a large inhale, he said.