41,000 Cases of Pertussis in 2012, 61 Percent of Adults Miss Vaccinations for Illness

Whoops. Not sure if you're protected against Whooping cough? Well, chances are, you're not the only person in the United States who isn't, either.

Pertussis, (otherwise known as whooping cough) an endemic disease in the United States that comes to a head every 3 to 5 years with frequent outbreaks, caused 27,550 cases of the respiratory illness in 2010 alone, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And as many as 41,000 reported cases in 2012, according to a recent poll. This is more reported cases of the respiratory illness than any other year, since 1955. 

As this illness can be particularly difficult to identify and manage, this shows growing concern regarding unreported cases and how children and adults alike are being protected against the problem.

According to researchers of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, 61 percent of adults said they didn't know the last time they were vaccinated against whooping cough, and just 20 percent said they were vaccinated in the last 10 years, which is the recommended vaccination time frame.

Though children under 6 months are at the highest risk for dying from pertussis, and children under 2 months cannot be vaccinated against the disease, adults should stay up-to-date with regular vaccinations, according to researchers.

"Almost two-thirds of adults were not aware of their Tdap vaccination status, and thus cannot be sure they are able to prevent the spread of pertussis to a vulnerable newborn," the researchers said, according to the poll.

The findings note that "The increasing number of cases of whooping cough in the United States over the past twenty years have led to changes in vaccination strategies for this potentially fatal disease. The most notable change has been to start using the Tdap vaccine - known by some as the whooping cough booster shot - for teens and adults."

People ages 19 and over who did not receive a Tdap booster in adolescence should receive one dose of the vaccine (in place of a tetanus booster shot), according to the CDC.

The CDC even recommends that women receive a Tdap booster during each pregnancy. 

The poll surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,182 adults in January of this year. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1 to 4 percentage points.