GRANT COUNTY, Wash. — Grant County reported 60 cases of whooping cough since the Summer of 2024 and predicts that the number will continue to increase sharply.
According to the Grant County Health District (GCHD), 60 people from the ages of three months to 43 years old were infected with whooping cough between June 2024 and the most recent patient on Nov. 6, 2024. One person was hospitalized, and GCHD said it is highly likely that there are more cases of whooping cough than reported.
This spike in whooping cough is not typical, with the last case in Grant County reported in 2019. Recent cases have been in Moses Lake, Soap Lake and Warden. Most patients with whooping cough have not been vaccinated or were not up-to-date with the whooping cough vaccine.
According to the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), 1,193 cases have been reported in Washington as of Nov. 2, 2024, an increase from just 51 cases reported last year. 28 people have been hospitalized statewide, including 12 infants.
According to the DOH, symptoms can vary. Early symptoms can last for one to two weeks, usually including runny nose, low-grade fever, mild cough, and Apnea (a pause in breathing) in babies. Whooping cough can also have late symptoms a week or two after the infection. These symptoms include fits of many, rapid coughs followed by a high-pitched “whoop,” vomiting during or after coughing fits and exhaustion following the fits.
The DOH recommends contacting your doctor if you have been exposed to whooping cough or are experiencing symptoms. Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics.
