One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
Is 2014 turning into a bad year for whooping cough?
A school nurse prepares a vaccine against whooping cough before giving it to students at Mark Twain Middle School in Los Angeles.
Listen
1:05
Is 2014 turning into a bad year for whooping cough?
The city of Long Beach and the counties of Orange, Riverside and Ventura are all reporting a spike in cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, so far this year. The state health department says it is too soon to tell whether the surge indicates that this will be a particularly bad year for the disease.
On Tuesday Long Beach said it has had 43 cases reported so far in 2014 -- that's more than the number of cases in the previous three years combined.
Orange County has had 32 reported cases to date in 2014. By this time in 2013, it had 12, and at this point in 2012, it had 11.
RELATED: Measles cases have officials worried about vaccine refusers
Riverside County has 39 reported cases so far this year. At this point in 2013, it had eight reported cases, and at this point in 2012 it had 11. In January, one infant died of pertussis in the county.
Ventura County has 28 reported cases to date in 2014. That compares with four at this point in 2013, and 11 at this point in 2013.
The California Department of Public Health says cases of whooping cough have been increasing across the state since the middle of last year.
Sponsored message
RELATED: Check out the 2013-14 vaccination rate at your child's elementary school
Whooping cough peaks every three to five years, and California’s last major outbreak was in 2010. But James Watt, chief of the division of communicable disease control at the Department of Public Health, says it’s too early to know if this is the beginning of the state’s next big wave.
"It is concerning that we’re seeing higher levels of disease than we saw a year or so ago, but it’s always challenging to predict what will happen with infectious diseases," Watt said.
Watt said the state would continue to monitor whooping cough, which is highly contagious. In the meantime, he encourages vaccination, especially for pregnant women and infants.
There is a minority of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children, out of the mistaken belief that vaccines cause autism, or out of fear that vaccines might cause other health problems. Researchers say vaccine refusal did play a role in California's 2010 pertussis outbreak, which claimed 10 lives.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
