Wanjiru Waweru, Jadetimes Staff
W. Waweru is a Jadetimes News Reporter Covering Health News
Worcester, Massachusetts – A highly communicable respiratory illness is increasing in Massachusetts. Conditions of whooping cough are climbing to pre-pandemic levels. Pertussis is a sign of whooping cough due to the sound patients create.
The condition of pertussis remained below during the pandemic, however, a family medicine physician at UMass Memorial Health reported many people quit masking and there have been decreases where people received vaccination.
The State of Massachusetts in the Department of Public Health stated 66 conditions of whooping cough between 2020 and 2023. They reported and investigated where they found 594 confirmed cases this year. About half have been addressed in August, September, and October.
The faculty member of UMass suggested that people get vaccinated and go to the doctors if they acknowledge that they showed symptoms of whooping cough. In an interview on Spectrum News Worcester, Dr. Manju Mahajan of UMass Memorial Health stated the cases of Whooping Cough.
"When the affected person coughs or sneezes, they release these small particles with the bacteria in them, and then other people can breathe in those bacteria and then these bacteria can then spread then other people are spending a lot of time together or sharing breathing spaces,” said Mahajan. “If somebody is exposed to pertussis, then they should reach out to their doctors because there are some people who are eligible to get post-exposure prophylaxis or treatment, for them to not get a severe infection or acquired the disease."
Consequently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention addressed the medical situation in about 18,000 cases. It is the first time the population has increased since 2019.
