COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — Holiday cheer is in the air, and so are infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whooping cough cases in the United States are beginning to return to pre-pandemic levels.
According to Dr. Jason Newland, chief of infectious diseases at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, there are over 32,000 recorded cases this year alone in the U.S., which is six times greater than last year.
The most up-to-date data from the CDC, which was released in early November, showed Pennsylvania and New York had reported the most cases of whooping cough at more than 2,000 each . Ohio, Wisconsin, Washington, and California all have more than 1,000 cases reported so far .
Dr. Newland said whooping cough, sometimes referred to as pertussis, often presents similar symptoms as the common cold. This can include fever, runny nose, and eventually an aggressive cough.
“The difference is the cough can come in paroxysms, but the better word for it is just a lot at one time, to where we hear that we say ‘whoop’ because you cough, cough, cough, cough, cough and then you go whoop because you’ve got to breathe,” he said.