Surveillance snapshot: states with the most pertussis diagnoses among service members and other beneficiaries of the Military Health System, January 2012-June 2014.

Abstract

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so far in 2014, reported cases of pertussis in the U.S. have increased 24% over the previous year; by June 16, a total of 9,964 cases of pertussis had been reported by 50 states and the District of Columbia. On June 13, the California Department of Public Health announced that the state was experiencing a pertussis (“whooping cough”)
epidemic. As of June 10, a total of 3,458 cases had been reported in the state; this number of pertussis cases exceeds the number of cases reported in the entire year in 2013. Th e MSMR has previously reported on spatiotemporal clusters of pertussis in the military that were associated with outbreaks in neighboring non-military communities; this association was clearly demonstrated during a previous 2010 outbreak in California. Between January 2012 and June 2014, the greatest number of pertussis cases (both confi rmed and probable) diagnosed in military
benefi ciaries occurred in California, Texas, Washington, Virginia, and Florida (Figure); 90 cases have been diagnosed in California since January 2014, which is more than was reported in all of 2012 (n=68) or 2013 (n=89).

Citation:

Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC). Surveillance snapshot: states with the most pertussis diagnoses among service members and other beneficiaries of the Military Health System, January 2012-June 2014. MSMR. 2014 Jun;21(6):18.