Whooping cough in Suffolk County: How to avoid it and how to treat it if you do get it

Amid a rise in confirmed and probable whooping cough cases in Suffolk County, health experts are calling for more vigilance against the spread of the highly contagious respiratory tract infection.

The number of confirmed and probable cases of whooping cough, also called pertussis, was at least 108 in 2023 in the county, up from 4 in 2022 and 2 in 2021, according to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services. In 2019, that figure was 64.

Nassau County has not seen a similar rise, though the Suffolk cases includes a student who attends school in Nassau but lives in Suffolk, according to the Suffolk health department.

The vast majority of Suffolk's cases reported this year were in school-age children and their parents, county health officials said in a statement Saturday. Most of the infected people were vaccinated, reducing the severity of the illness compared with people who were not vaccinated, the statement read.

But Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, said the problem was that the vaccination rates among children during the coronavirus pandemic decreased. Immunity also waned among adults who may have had the disease in their youth.

On top of that, she said, COVID, RSV and influenza are making more coughing last longer.

"So, it's easier now to spread that pertussis," she said.

Here is more about the whooping cough and how to protect yourself:

What is whooping cough?

A bacterial infection, whooping cough can pass by way of a cough or sneeze, potentially leading to coughing fits and even death, health experts said. Once a person catches the lung infection, they can have symptoms such as a runny nose and fever, according to the New York State Department of Health's website. Pertussis is particularly concerning for infants, possibly causing damage to the brain, respiratory issues and death, health experts say.

How can you protect yourself?

Vaccines are key to protecting against the spread of whooping cough in adults and children, health experts said.

Adults can get a booster every 10 years, while there are closer intervals for children, state health officials said. Being vaccinated can also protect against tetanus and diphtheria.

Pregnant women should also get vaccinated to protect their newborn child. People who are visiting and around the newborn should be vaccinated as well to help protect the infant, experts say.

Testing and treating pertussis?

If you have a cough that sounds significantly different from what you typically hear, Nachman said that may be a signal to get tested for whooping cough.

As the infection develops, coughing fits can be followed by a high-pitched whoop, which means the person is trying to catch their breath, the state health department says.

Nachman said it was a good time to call a medical provider who could do testing, which could be done with a respiratory nose swab.

Getting tested can cut down on the transmission of whooping cough while also allowing a physician to prescribe you antibiotics that make the person with pertussis feel better sooner, she said.

"So even if you've been sick, I can help prevent … people in your house, people in your work, people in school from getting sick from you," she said. 

With Tara Smith

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Education: Howard University 

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith came to Newsday in 2023 after being a race and history reporter at USA TODAY, where she wrote enterprise and spot articles examining how the past shapes the present. Previously, she worked as the race and justice reporter at the USA TODAY Network of New York, covering issues such as criminal justice reform, housing, environmental justice, health care and politics. At The Journal News/lohud.com in Westchester County, she covered Yonkers, the state's third-largest city. She also worked at The Associated Press in Atlanta.

Honors and Awards: Criminal justice reporting fellowship with the National Press Foundation;  New York News Publishers Association award for distinguished investigative reporting;  Contributed reporting for Best of Gannett honor; Member of Table Stakes, a program funded by the Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund and managed by the American Press Institute to transform local news.