Whooping cough cases rising in Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Healthcare workers are giving insight on a rise in whooping cough cases in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services says there have been 247 reported cases in 2025 so far of pertussis, which is also known as whooping cough.

Dr. Jeff Foxx, a family physician, says,  “We’re seeing lower vaccination rates, so that’s the real key.”

The cabinet adds there were 543 cases in 2024, and of these cases, Kentucky saw two infant deaths in the last six months.

Foxx says, “Adults may get a runny nose, congestion, cough, think its a cold or maybe a bad bronchitis but adults usually do well. Small children or infants, it can have all those symptoms plus it can affect their breathing to where they stop breathing, and as we seen, can be fatal.”

Foxx says the height of the COVID-19 pandemic brought on a lot of misinformation on vaccines that’s still lingering today, which could be contributing to these numbers.

Foxx says, “Some people have shied away from getting vaccines. The pertussis vaccine is safe and effective and its been around for decades.”

Foxx adds that a lot of people also may not know that it’s important to get a pertussis booster shot every 10 years.

Foxx says, “If you were to catch it thinking you have a little cold but give it to your infant grandchild and it could be fatal, so not only should the small children start with their immunization series, adults should make sure their boosters are current.”

Foxx says he believes people need to have an “honest conversation with the people they trust, their primary care providers that provide them healthcare to lead them in the right direction” regarding vaccinations.