(MENAFN) New figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show the United States has logged more than 25,000 whooping cough infections so far this year, signaling a second consecutive year of elevated activity.

Around this point in 2023, roughly 33,000 pertussis cases had been identified, while current totals have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels; in 2019, about 18,600 infections were reported.

Infants remain at highest risk from the fast-spreading respiratory disease. Earlier this year, both Washington and Louisiana confirmed infant deaths. In February, the Spokane Regional Health District reported Washington’s first pertussis-related fatality since 2011. The Louisiana Office of the Surgeon General said two infants had died within the previous six months, noting the last such death occurred in 2018.

Whooping cough—also known as pertussis—is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, according to the CDC. The organism attaches to cilia in the upper airway and releases toxins that impair these tiny hair-like structures, triggering swelling and narrowing of the respiratory passages.

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