FLICKR, SANOFI PASTEUROutbreaks of whooping cough, or pertussis, occurred in multiple locations worldwide this year at higher rates than in 2014. The Dutch health council recently recommended that pregnant women receive vaccinations in the last three months of their pregnancy—and researchers from Texas have developed antibodies to potentially treat the disease, reported yesterday (December 2) in Science Translational Medicine.
In Clark Country, Washington, local health officials have declared an end to a recent whooping cough outbreak. “Through November, Clark County health officials recorded 345 cases of whooping cough, compared with just 52 cases during the same period last year,” reported The Columbian, though the disease rates are on the decline.
Across the Pacific Ocean, whooping cough outbreaks are ramping up in Australia. “Western Sydney Local Health District has experienced a steady increase in pertussis (whooping cough) notifications since late 2014,” communicable diseases manager Shopna Bag told The Daily Telegraph. Last year, 400 cases of whooping cough were reported in western Sydney—but the area has seen more than 1,200 reports of the disease in 2015. In Europe, the Dutch health council recently recommended that pregnant ...
