Rate of pertussis among U.S. population by state 2018

The states with the highest rates of pertussis include Vermont, Wisconsin, Alaska and Maine. Pertussis is more commonly known as whooping cough. It is a respiratory disease that causes uncontrollable coughing. Whooping cough is highly contagious, but deaths are rare.

Pertussis vaccination

There are two vaccines in the U.S. that help to prevent pertussis. These are the DTaP, for children under 7 years, and the Tdap, for older children, teens and adults. These vaccines are highly recommended, and a majority of children and teens receive them. In 2017, around 83 percent of children aged 19 to 35 months had received the DTaP vaccine.

Pertussis cases

The number of cases of pertussis in the United States have decreased significantly since the introduction of vaccines that prevent the disease. In 1950, there were around 120,700 new cases of pertussis in the U.S., compared to just under 18,000 new cases in 2016. In that year, there were around 5.56 new cases of pertussis per 100,000 population.