SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — Pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough, is surging in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.
According to statistics from the CDC, as of October 12th, there have been 902 reported cases in Washington state alone, which is a drastic difference from the 44 cases that were reported at this time in 2023.
Idaho is also seeing a big spike this year with 408 cases compared to the 15 cases reported by this point last year.
Spokane Regional Health District epidemiologist Mark Springer said cases started back in the spring and they have continued to grow over the last few months. Springer said the spike is unusual because over the last three to four years, Spokane County's pertussis cases have been less than 10.
As of October 16th, the Spokane Regional Health District has seen 84 cases of pertussis currently with 17 of those just being in October alone. Communication Manager for the Panhandle Health District Katherine Hoyer, says as of October 16th the panhandle has 245 cases of pertussis which is close to 90 new cases since August.
The CDC says if you end up getting whooping cough as an adult, it shows up as a mild cough, a fever and a runny or stuffy nose for about a week or two. The disease can be worse for younger children, leading to coughing fits that can result in vomiting. For babies a year or younger and people over the age of 65, whooping cough can lead to hospitalization or even death from not being able to breathe properly.
"The nice thing that we have seen recently is a lot of awareness around pertussis, we are not seeing that delay in diagnosis and we are seeing providers really cue into that," Springer said.
Spokane Public Schools spokesperson Ryan Lancaster said that as of right now, the district isn't seeing an alarming rate of whooping cough cases or absences, but they always work with the health district to make sure every student is as safe as they can be at school.
Springer says the best way to protect yourself or your child from the disease is through preventative antibiotics as well as getting vaccinated.