Whooping cough cases in Arizona are at highest level in 12 years

The Arizona Department of Health Services has reported more than 900 cases of whooping cough throughout 2025 — the highest case count in the state in 12 years.

Pertussis cases started rising nationwide in 2024 and climbed even higher in 2025.

“Locally and around the country we’re definitely seeing an uptick compared to prior years,” said Phoenix Children’s Hospital pediatric hospitalist Dr. Reina Patel.

Patel said pertussis is known as whooping cough because it can start out with mild, cold-like symptoms, but as it progresses, it can cause severe coughing fits or difficulty breathing.

“Pertussis is also known as the 100-day cough,” Patel said. “So it’s not just a small cold that gets over in a couple of days, once you’re infected, the symptoms can last up to three months, almost. So we really want to try to prevent this.”

Patel said the highly contagious respiratory infection caused by a bacteria can be especially risky for babies under 6 months old. She cautions parents to be on the lookout for symptoms that last beyond a few days.

“Especially if they’re starting to progress into the stage of having coughing fits, or changing colors, turning blue, not drinking well, having persistent vomiting, any of those reasons are when you should call the pediatrician or take them in to be seen,” Patel said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children receive a five-dose vaccination series for pertussis between the ages of 2 months and 5 years old, as well as a booster dose at 11 or 12 years old. Adults can also get vaccinated every 10 years as part of the Tdap booster, which also protects against tetanus and diphtheria. The AAP also recommends women get the Tdap shot during the third trimester of every pregnancy to help protect babies from whooping cough in the first few months of life.

“Highly consider everyone following the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and getting their children vaccinated, practicing good handwashing, and staying home if you’re sick so that we avoid the spread to our youngest babies,” Patel said.

Arizona’s vaccination rate for whooping cough has been falling. About 89% of the state’s kindergarteners were vaccinated for pertussis in the 2024-2025 school year, compared to about 94% a decade earlier, according to state health department records.