ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska’s state health department confirmed that an infant has died from the ongoing pertussis — or whooping cough — epidemic that is currently sweeping Alaska.
Details about the child’s exact age or hometown are not being released to protect the family’s anonymity, although health officials say most of the current cases have been reported in Southcentral Alaska.
As of last Friday, the state has seen 234 cases of pertussis in 2024, the highest in the last nine years.
According to State Epidemiologist Dr. Joe McLaughlin, 70% have been in children under the age of 15 years old and 12% have been in infants. Of those infants, 45% have been hospitalized.
“The population that is at highest risk for severe disease is infants,” McLaughlin said. “Particularly young infants — infants that are less than three months of age.”
McLaughlin said infants normally start receiving a series of vaccinations to protect them against pertussis when they are two months old. Pregnant women can get vaccinated in their third trimester to help protect their babies before they are old enough to be vaccinated.
Children receive the shot when they are young and adolescents and adults are eligible for boosters every 10 years.
McLaughlin said the most important thing a person can do to prevent pertussis is make sure they and their children are up to date on vaccinations.
“The vaccines that are currently available for pertussis are highly effective, particularly in the first three to five years after vaccination,” he said. “But then immunity gradually wanes over time.”
Waning immunity is one of the reasons McLaughlin said the disease is likely spreading, not just in Alaska, but in the Lower 48 as well. Unvaccinated children may also spread the disease.
Kathy Bell, health director for the Anchorage School District — which is reporting nine suspected or confirmed cases — said the vaccine is required to enter school, but over 1,200 children have received exemptions in 2024, mostly for religious reasons.
McLaughlin said early symptoms can look much like a cold and progress to violent coughing fits and difficulty breathing. It can take 10 days from exposure to develop symptoms and people can be contagious for up to three weeks. People who test positive for the disease can be treated with five days of antibiotics.
He said people who live with infants should be particularly cautious.
“If anybody in the household develops a respiratory infection, go ahead and get tested quickly for pertussis,” he said. “Because we know that infants are at highest risk for severe disease and so, we want to make sure that anybody in a household where there’s an infant present gets tested and treated immediately.”
People are encouraged to go to their healthcare provider for testing if they develop symptoms, or an urgent care center if they don’t have a regular doctor.
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