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Health officials say Michigan is experiencing its highest number of pertussis, or whooping cough, cases in over a decade.
Pertussis, a highly contagious respiratory infection, poses a serious risk to vulnerable groups like infants and unvaccinated individuals. Ahead of holiday gatherings, Michigan public health officials are urging families to stay up to date on immunizations to prevent the spread of serious diseases such as pertussis, RSV, COVID-19 and the flu.
As of Dec. 8, 1,530 pertussis cases across the state had been reported to the Michigan Disease Surveillance System this year, more than 2.5 times the yearly average of 596 cases from 2017 to 2019, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. More than half of the cases were school-aged children between 5 and 17 years old. Additionally, 66% of pertussis cases involved people who were either unvaccinated or had not received a vaccine in more than five years.
“This trend mirrors things that we’re seeing nationally,” MDHHS Director of the Division of Immunization Ryan Malosh said during a Zoom roundtable on Thursday. “Pertussis cases in general are up across the country.”
Pertussis often begins with cold-like symptoms and can take five to 10 days, or longer, to appear after exposure. In babies and young children, symptoms may include pauses in breathing instead of coughing, which is called apnea and can cause a bluish skin tone or shortness of breath, according to MDHHS. As the illness progresses, it leads to severe coughing fits. Pertussis is especially dangerous for infants under 1, who face higher risks of complications like pneumonia, brain damage and death.
Infants with pertussis often require hospitalization, according to the CDC.
The Thursday roundtable included several health care providers and Veronica McNally, founder of the I Vaccinate campaign and president of the Franny Strong Foundation. The foundation was established in honor of McNally’s daughter, Francesca Marie, who died of whooping cough in 2012 at 12 weeks old.
“(Francesca’s) symptoms began with a mild, almost unnoticeable cough. She died just nine days after first showing symptoms,” according to the foundation’s website.
Franny Strong helps health care professionals educate the public about vaccinations to reduce pertussis deaths. McNally was previously the consumer representative on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
“At the time (my daughter) died, Michigan and other states across the country were experiencing an increase in cases, and I want to make sure that that is something that people understand,” she said. “Similar to the rates that we’re seeing today, we were seeing an increase in cases back in 2012 when she passed away. Her death was awful, but we honor her legacy every day by advocating for the prevention of diseases, like this, through vaccination. Pertussis, like the flu and COVID, is a vaccine-preventable disease.”
McNally also had pertussis herself and said “it was something where you would wake up in the middle of the night, thinking that you could not breathe. And it lasted for months.”
DTaP and Tdap are vaccines that protect against pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus. DTaP is for children under age 7, while Tdap is for adolescents and adults. The CDC recommends the pertussis vaccine for infants, children, adolescents, pregnant people and adults who haven’t received a dose as adolescents or adults.
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“Vaccination remains the most effective defense,” said Dr. Delicia Pruitt, the medical director of the Saginaw County Health Department, during the Zoom meeting.
Vaccination rates for pertussis have dropped 3% since January 2020, with only 73.3% of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving the recommended four doses of the DTaP vaccine as of October 2024, according to MDHHS. Meanwhile, school vaccine waivers for DTaP/Tdap have nearly doubled, increasing from 3.2% of Michigan kindergarten students in 2020 to 6.2% in 2023.
“Whooping cough is a serious, preventable disease that can have devastating effects, especially on babies who are too young to be fully vaccinated,” Malosh said in a release following the roundtable. “By staying up to date on immunizations, including booster shots for teens and adults, we can protect our loved ones and prevent the spread of this highly contagious disease. Immunization is not just an individual responsibility — it’s a critical step in safeguarding public health.”