At the close of April, Texas already outpaced last year’s rates of pertussis, or whooping cough, posing another serious threat to infants and immunocompromised patients as measles, too, continues to spread in the state.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) so far has reported 1,060 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, outpacing the rate seen in 2024, which saw 1,928 cases of pertussis total.
“We’re seeing more pertussis cases now than we have in over a decade, and it’s not just numbers on a chart – it’s real kids, real families, and preventable loss,” said Janeana White, MD, a member of the Texas Medical Association's Committee on Infectious Diseases and the deputy public health authority in Houston.
In Texas schools that report immunization rates to DSHS, 93.48% of students are fully vaccinated with Tdap, and 94.04% are fully vaccinated with DTaP, the vaccines that protect against pertussis. However, these numbers fall just short of the recommended 95% rate to achieve community immunity, the point at which immunocompromised people are protected. The Tdap vaccine is for children 7 years old and older, adolescents, and adults, while the DTaP vaccine is given to children between 6 weeks to 6 years of age.
Hector Ocaranza, MD, a member of TMA’s Council on Science and Public Health and El Paso’s health authority, says it’s important for a pregnant mother to get the Tdap vaccine so her baby receives protection from the disease. Dr. Ocaranza is reminding Texans of the importance of the “cocooning” strategy – vaccinating people who are near newborn babies to protect them until they are old enough to receive their own shots.
“In a majority of cases, pertussis is transmitted to infants from the parents or the grandparents. So, it’s important that everyone in the family is up to date on their vaccinations,” Dr. Ocaranza said.
CDC recommends adults receive a booster dose of the Tdap vaccine every 10 years.
As vaccination rates wane, physicians warn vaccine-preventable diseases can come back as seen in some areas in Texas. By far most of Texas’ current measles outbreak cases are among people who were not known to be vaccinated, according to DSHS.
The rise in whooping cough in Texas follows a larger – and more drastic – national trend. More than 8,000 cases have been reported so far in 2025 per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At this time last year, over 4,200 cases were reported nationwide.
Karl Serrao, MD, a pediatric critical care physician and president of the Nueces County Medical Society, says the last time he witnessed an outbreak in whooping cough was in 2013-14. Now, the potentially fatal respiratory disease has come to his home of Corpus Christi.
“When we see these kids coming in, they're having these distressing coughing fits. Babies can experience pauses in breathing,” he said.
TMA continues to monitor the rise in pertussis. Read Texas Medicine Today for updates and visit TMA’s Infectious Diseases webpage for more news and resources.
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