News

Changes in vaccine components and missed opportunities for vaccination have resulted in a surge in cases of pertussis, experts warn in a new update in Pediatrics on the highly contagious infection. Recently, a baby under 2 months of age and too young for vaccination died of pertussis in Mississippi, which has recorded 115 cases of the infection so far this year, more than double the 49 cases reported in 2024 according to the Mississippi State Board of Health. Know the Signs Pertussis can vary in presentation in infants from the traditional gasping cough to the catarrhal, paroxysmal, and convalescent stages seen in adults, the authors of the Pediatrics paper reported. Remember to keep pertussis on your differential, particularly in young infants in whom it presents differently," said Caitlin Naureckas Li, MD, MHQS, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and a co-author of the update."