Overview
- Provisional state data show about 3,500 pertussis cases through October, roughly four times the same period in 2024 and the highest count in more than a decade.
- Approximately 85% of reported infections are in children, with at least two infant deaths linked to the outbreak and infants facing the greatest risk of hospitalization.
- Texas health officials issued a second consecutive year health alert as clinicians point to slipping school-age vaccination rates as a key factor in the rise.
- Local trends reflect the statewide surge, with McLennan County reporting 67 cases so far this year versus 12 in all of 2024 and Dallas-area pediatricians diagnosing several cases each week.
- Officials urge up-to-date DTaP/Tdap for all ages, Tdap during each pregnancy, prompt PCR testing, early antibiotics, and post-exposure prophylaxis, while Mississippi, West Virginia, Florida, and Louisiana also report increases.