California whooping cough outbreak update

Here are the latest numbers, reported by the California Department of Public Health, as of 10/05/10. Thankfully, no new deaths have been reported since  I last reported the statistics, one month ago.

• 5,272 confirmed, probable and suspect cases of pertussis reported in 2010, for a state rate of 13.5 cases/100,000.
  • Case Classification:
    -Confirmed: ~66%  (3,480)
    -Probable: ~17%     (896)
    -Suspect: ~17%       (896)
• This is the most cases reported in 60 years when 6,613 cases were reported in 1950, and the highest incidence in 51 years when a rate of 16.1 cases/100,000 was reported in 1959.
• 132 (59%) of hospitalized cases were infants <3 months of age, and 167 (74%) were infants <6 months of age.
• 129 (77%) of the hospitalized infants <6 months of age with known race and ethnicity were Hispanic.
• 9 deaths have been reported; 8 (89%) were Hispanic infants. Eight fatalities were infants <2 months of age at time of disease onset and had not received any doses of pertussis-containing vaccine and the remainder was an ex-28 week preemie that was 2 months of age and had received the first dose of DTaP only 15 days prior to disease
  onset.
• Rates are highest in infants <6 months of age (261.3 cases/100,000), in children aged 7-9 years (40.2 cases/100,000) and adolescents aged 10-18 years (30.1 cases/100,000)