Cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, have been significantly increasing within the first few months of 2025 in Michigan, said Natasha Bagdasarian, the chief medical executive for the State of Michigan.
There are 497 confirmed cases as of April 18, according to Michigan’s Health and Human Services website.
“That is a big number,” Bagdasarian said. “The prevalence of diseases like pertussis, and these are vaccine preventable diseases, these are on the rise. We're seeing this not only with pertussis. ... We're seeing these communicable diseases make a big comeback.”
Since 2021, the number of cases in Michigan have been on the rise, according to Michigan’s HHS website:
- 2024: 2,081 cases
- 2023: 110 cases
- 2022: 85 cases
- 2021: 72 cases
- 2020: 116 cases
- 2019: 548
- 2018: 661
Whooping cough is a respiratory disease that starts like a cold or a flu, but leads to extreme coughing and can result in vomiting, breathing problems, fatigue, trouble sleeping and broken ribs, said Scott Izzo, an epidemiologist with District Health Department No. 2, which covers Alcona, Iosco, Ogemaw and Oscoda counties.
“Whooping cough is a serious health issue,” Izzo said. “Especially in younger children and infants, there is a higher risk of death just because they're coughing so hard they can't get in enough oxygen to breathe.”
Bagdasarian said the reason for the diseases like whooping cough rising is the lowered vaccination rates in Michigan after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We saw a lot of distrust in public health and in the government that had been building up over time, and it really reached the head around the COVID vaccine,” she said. “There are particularly communities that are vulnerable ... where there are very low numbers of vaccination.”
Oscoda County is one of those communities, Izzo said.
“Even when comparing it to the already lowered state rate, Oscoda County in particular has a much lower vaccination rate than that and that makes them more susceptible to these outbreaks when they do occur,” he said.
Oscoda County has 37.3% kids (19 through 35 months old) and 62.1% of adolescents (13 through 17 years old), who are fully vaccinated, according to Michigan HHS website.
In comparison, Ingham County’s vaccination rate among kids is 70.6%, and Crawford County’s rate is 79.6%. It is 69.3% for vaccinated adolescents in Ingham and 78.1% in Crawford.
Izzo said his health department is monitoring six whooping cough cases in Oscoda County. Six cases is a large number for them, he said.
“Over the last five years, we haven't had any reported cases of (whooping cough) in our four-county area, which includes Oscoda County,” he said. “So even having one or two cases is something that we take very seriously.”
Izzo said vaccination is the only thing that can prevent whooping cough. There are two vaccines available for people: DTap for children under seven years old and Tdap for people ages seven and up.
“The best thing that people in the community can do to protect themselves from whooping cough is to go check their vaccine status,” he said. “There's been a lot of misinformation on vaccines out in the community about like, ‘Is it effective? Is it necessary?’ And me, as an epidemiologist, believe that both is yes: they are necessary, and they are effective.”
Similarly, Bagdasarian said if people have concerns about getting vaccinated, they should speak with their healthcare provider.
“I think it is perfectly fine to question things and to make sure that you're making the best decisions for your child,” she said. “As a parent, that's what we all want to do. ... Talk to your healthcare provider, have a conversation if you have doubts, and one of the questions you can ask your healthcare provider is: ‘Do you vaccinate your children?’
“And I will tell you that the vast, vast majority of healthcare providers, of physicians and nurses we vaccinate our own children.”
If someone suspects having the illness, Izzo advises them to isolate themselves from other people and contact a doctor.
