COUGHING? Pertussis Cases on the Rise in Minnesota This Year

CAUTION:  While over 119 million people are expected to travel these next few weeks, there is a chance they will be bringing more than just gifts and cookies with them.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, there have been 2,814 cases of pertussis in the Land of 10,000 Lakes in 2024.  Compared to 2023, the number of confirmed cases has risen exponentially.  In 2023, there were less than 10 confirmed cases each week, with multiple weeks reporting zero.  In 2024, over 200 cases were reported the week of November 4th.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious bacterial illness.  If someone around you during the holidays is contagious and starts coughing or sneezing, you could be given the gift of pertussis...and there are no places to stand in line during the holidays to return it.

How Many Cases of Whooping Cough (Pertussis) Are There in Minnesota?

If you can avoid whooping cough, I highly recommend it.  I've had it and I thought I was going to break a rib from coughing so hard.  It happens to about 4% of people that get it.

Unfortunately, cases of pertussis are spreading throughout school systems, including high schools in the Rochester, Minnesota area.  But they aren't alone.  Over 2,800 cases of pertussis have been reported in Minnesota for the year and below are the following numbers for each county as of December 19th, 2024:

Aitkin 6
Anoka 230
Becker 3
Beltrami 6
Benton 14
Big Stone 0
Blue Earth 7
Brown 1
Carlton 24
Carver 182
Cass 17
Chippewa 0
Chisago 37
Clay 20
Clearwater 3
Cook 0
Cottonwood 1
Crow Wing 48
Dakota 211
Dodge 16
Douglas 13
Faribault 0
Fillmore 3
Freeborn 2
Goodhue 9
Grant 1
Hennepin 806
Houston 11
Hubbard 5
Isanti 18
Itasca 23
Jackson 1
Kanabec 1
Kandiyohi 3
Kittson 0
Koochiching 0
Lac qui Parle 1
Lake 1
Lake of the Woods 10
Le Sueur 2
Lincoln 0
Lyon 2
Mahnomen 0
Marshall 1
Martin 0
McLeod 18
Meeker 24
Mille Lacs 18
Morrison 3
Mower 16
Murray 0
Nicollet 8
Nobles 1
Norman 0
Olmsted 48
Otter Tail 18
Pennington 1
Pine 7
Pipestone 0
Polk 7
Pope 0
Ramsey 211
Red Lake 0
Redwood 0
Renville 0
Rice 32
Rock 0
Roseau 0
Scott 97
Sherburne 55
Sibley 8
St. Louis 107
Stearns 24
Steele 20
Stevens 0
Swift 0
Todd 0
Traverse 0
Wabasha 1
Wadena 4
Waseca 1
Washington 115
Watonwan 1
Wilkin 0
Winona 14
Wright 216
Yellow Medicine 0

What Are The Symptoms of Pertussis (Whooping Cough)?

This is the time of year when colds creep in.  According to the CDC, the start of whooping cough can look just like a normal cold.  As it progresses and the cough gets more intense, a "whoop" can sometimes be the sound after a coughing fit as someone is trying to gasp for air.  For a younger child or baby, the coughing may not be as evident but the child may have difficulty breathing.

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