Fairfax County has reported 44 cases of pertussis, commonly known as “whooping cough,” so far this year — the most cases of the virus the Northern Virginia suburb has had during a single year in over a decade.
Alex Seifert, an epidemiologist with the county’s health department, said whooping cough is a “cyclical” disease, with cases peaking every three to five years. The dozens of cases so far in 2024 are about four times the average number of cases that Fairfax County reported in the previous five years, Seifert said.
“After having a few years of a pretty low number of cases, we’re seeing a much higher number this year,” Seifert said.
One reason for that, he said, is waning immunity from vaccines.
Both DTaP and Tdap vaccines protect against the virus. DTaP shots are for young children, and Tdap shots are for preteens and adults. Adults should get a booster Tdap shot every 10 years to ensure they’re protected, Seifert said.
“COVID might have also played a role,” Seifert said of the increased number of whooping cough cases. “We know that when people were wearing masks and social distancing, that might have disrupted kind of the typical community transmission of respiratory illnesses like pertussis.”
Whooping cough is a respiratory illness that starts with common cold symptoms, including a runny nose, low fever or mild cough. But then, about a week or two after that, symptoms may evolve to include coughing fits.
It’s spread from person to person through respiratory droplets, “and it’s really contagious,” Seifert said.
“The best way to avoid whooping cough is to get vaccinated,” Seifert said.
Seifert recommends checking with a health care provider to make sure you’re up to date on your vaccines. Anyone who has had severe coughing fits should see a doctor, she said, “because pertussis can be treated with antibiotics, but it has to be treated within the first few weeks of the start of their symptoms, or else it’s really not effective.”
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