San Diego Sharp Medical Centers reports that cases of whooping cough are on the rise in San Diego County, primarily affecting patients 3 years of age and younger.
According to Sharp, in 2022 San Diego has the highest number of infections of this disease in the entire state of California. To be precise, in 2022, 183 cases have been reported throughout the state of California, according to Sharp.
Of those infections, 61 have been registered in San Diego.
San Diego even has more than Los Angeles, despite its population being much larger. In Los Angeles there are 50 confirmed cases.
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What is whooping cough?
According to Julián Alfaro, a family medicine specialist, “Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that affects the respiratory system. It affects both children and adults."
Alfaro adds that this type of cough, if not treated, could cause respiratory complications, but it is important not to confuse it with a common cough.
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How can we tell the difference between regular cough and whooping cough?
How can we differentiate a regular cough from whooping cough? Well, the regular one can basically take a few days, maybe a couple of weeks, but whooping cough is an acute process that forms in two phases. The infective phase that can take two weeks is a common flu accompanied by a cough, fever up to 100 degrees, then it goes to the next phase, which is phase two, where people have a fairly severe attack and this can last up to 10 weeks.
The way we can determine if we have this type of cough is through medical samples.
Sharp hospitals indicate that their doctors have seen a large number of children 3 years of age or younger who have been arriving with influenza and at the same time with whooping cough, so they recommend that we continue to take care of ourselves, and use masks for a little more protection.
