STATE OF PERTUSSIS

Pertussis: a serious, highly contagious disease that is active in the United States1,2

The highest incidence of pertussis—4.1 per 100,000—was in children 6-11 months of age; children <6 months of age had an incidence of 3.6 per 100,000 in 2021 (provisional data).2,*,†,‡

State of Pertussis infographic
State of Pertussis infographic

Pertussis Cases in United States, 2021
(Provisional)2
0.5 Incidence (per 100,000)

 

* Total age incidence per 100,000 calculated from 1,560 cases with age reported.

The pertussis case definition was modified by CSTE effective January 1, 2020. Criteria were modified increasing sensitivity for
case ascertainment such that case counts may increase. The 2020 CSTE case definition can be viewed here.

Note: Cases include individuals who range from <6 months of age to 20 years of age and older, including unknown ages. Surveillance data have limitations and are often incomplete. Forty percent of pertussis cases in 2021 among children 6 months to 6 years of age had unknown pertussis vaccination history. These data cannot be used to interpret vaccine effectiveness or to assess risk, as the data are incomplete and there is no healthy comparison group.

PEDIARIX may be given as early as 6 weeks of age through 6 years of age (prior to the 7th birthday).3

CSTE: Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.

CSTE: Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.