On Friday, Kentucky announced two pertussis deaths in infants over the past 6 months, and neither the infants nor their mothers had been vaccinated against the highly contagious bacterial infection also known as whooping cough.
According to the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH), these are the first whooping cough deaths in the state since 2018.
Anyone can get whooping cough, but infants are at greatest risk for life-threatening illness
“Anyone can get whooping cough, but infants are at greatest risk for life-threatening illness,” said KDPH Commissioner Steven Stack, MD, in a press statement. “Fortunately, when vaccinations are administered to pregnant women, it provides protection to both the mother and the baby."
Whooping cough activity on the rise
All infants are recommended to get the pertussis vaccine series starting at 2 months of age, and pregnant women should receive it in every pregnancy. Children receive another immunization before kindergarten, at age 12, and every 10 years in adulthood.
According to Kentucky officials, whopping cough is on the rise in the state, with 543 cases reported in in 2024, the highest number of cases since 2012. So far this year, 247 cases of whooping cough have been reported.
Data from a survey of Kentucky school children doing the 2024-25 school year shows that 86% of kindergarteners and 85% of seventh graders are up to date on their required pertussis immunizations.