Cases of a Victorian-era disease have soared in Florida amid the state’s ban on vaccine mandates. As of September 27, the latest data available, there have been 1,295 cases of pertussis, also called whooping cough, in Florida, an 81 percent surge compared to the entirety of 2024. And nationwide, cases rose six-fold in 2024 compared to the year before, CDC figures …
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Cases of whooping cough are on the rise in Florida, amid a surge in vaccine hesitancy. Semafor reports that the number of diagnoses in the southern state rose by 81 percent between 2024 and 2025. The Tallahassee Democrat reports that as of Sept. 27, 2025, the Florida Department of Health had diagnosed 1,295 cases, up from 715 cases in all …
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One challenge is that early pertussis symptoms often mimic a mild respiratory infection – runny nose, sneezing, low fever, and occasional cough. After 1 to 2 weeks, the disease often enters the paroxysmal (coughing-fit) stage, which is more alarming. Typical signs include: Intense, rapid coughing fits (paroxysms) that can last for 1 to 6 weeks or more. A high-pitched “whoop” …
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by Jennifer Fernandez, North Carolina Health News October 3, 2025 By Jennifer Fernandez Most people likely know pertussis by its more common name — whooping cough, which comes from the “whoop” sound made as the person tries to catch their breath in between violent coughing spells. The Corbin family in Chapel Hill is well acquainted with the other nickname for …
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A baby in Mississippi has died of whooping cough, the Mississippi State Department of Health announced on Monday, marking the state’s first whooping cough death in 13 years. The infant was less than two months old and was not old enough to receive the pertussis vaccine, the agency said. Mississippi has seen 115 pertussis cases from Jan. 1, 2025, to …
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Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to publicly support the whooping cough vaccine as Louisiana experiences one of the worst outbreaks in recent history. In 2024, six times the number of whooping cough — or pertussis — cases were recorded …
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BATON ROUGE — Sen. Bill Cassidy said Friday that Louisiana is undergoing its worst whooping cough outbreak since 1990 and called on the nation’s vaccine-leery health secretary to promote vaccinations. “In my state of Louisiana, we are experiencing the worst pertussis outbreak in 35 years. The outbreak has already killed two babies,” Cassidy wrote to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy …
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Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email A baby whose mother had not been vaccinated against whooping cough has died after contracting the infection, health officials have confirmed. It is the first death from whooping cough in the …
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Vaccination plea after baby dies from whooping cough The Independent Baby dies of whooping cough after mother not vaccinated while pregnant BBC British baby dies from whooping cough as vaccination rates fall The Guardian Baby whose mother was unvaccinated dies of whooping cough Sky News Pregnant women urged to get whooping cough vaccine after baby death The Independent Source link
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