Friday, September 11, 2026

Whooping Cough Cases in Pasadena Climbed Well Past the City’s Yearly Average in 2026

Health officials reported three school outbreaks since late April and are urging Pasadena families to check their vaccine records

In a normal year, this city records about three cases of whooping cough. In 2026, it has counted many times that — and much of it arrived in a spring surge that struck three local schools.

Pasadena has confirmed 17 cases of pertussis, the bacterial illness better known as whooping cough, since the start of 2026, according to the Pasadena Public Health Department. That figure, reported as of late May, reflects what the department calls elevated activity across the community, and it dwarfs the roughly three cases the city sees in an average year.

The rise came in clusters. Health officials confirmed four cases at Don Benito Fundamental School, near Eaton Canyon, in late April. Three more followed at Blair Middle School in mid-May. Days later, the department confirmed six at Sequoyah School’s high school campus — the third school outbreak in under a month. In each case, the department said it worked with the affected schools — and with the Pasadena Unified School District, which runs Don Benito and Blair — to notify close contacts and guide testing and treatment.

Whooping cough spreads through coughing or close contact, and symptoms usually surface five to 21 days after exposure. It often begins like a cold — a runny nose, a mild cough, a low-grade fever — before the cough sharpens over a week or two into the violent fits that give the illness its name. In infants, the signs can be harder to read: a baby may not cough at all, but may gag, turn red or blue, or briefly stop breathing.

Pertussis is most dangerous to the very young.

“Pertussis is a serious and highly contagious illness,” said Manuel Carmona, the city’s director of public health. “Staying home when sick is the key to stopping the spread of this preventable illness in our community. Parents should be on the alert for persistent or unusual coughs and seek medical care promptly if symptoms arise.”

Vaccination lowers the risk but does not erase it. When the first cluster appeared at Don Benito, Dr. Matt Feaster of the health department noted that all four of those cases involved fully vaccinated children. “Kids are the perfect vessels for transmission — even if they’re fully vaccinated,” he told ABC7. The shot’s job, he said, is a narrower one: “What the vaccine does is protect you from severe illness and death.”

The department’s guidance is specific. Children are due for DTaP doses at 2, 4, 6 and 15 months and again between ages 4 and 6 — five in all — with a Tdap booster around age 11 or 12. Pregnant residents are advised to get Tdap during every pregnancy, and adults to get at least one dose. Whooping cough is confirmed with a nasal-swab PCR test, and the department points to a five-day course of the antibiotic azithromycin as the first-line treatment. Sick people are asked to stay home until a provider clears them or until they have finished five days of appropriate antibiotics.

“We urge parents to be vigilant for changes in their child’s health,” said Dr. Parveen Kaur, the city’s health officer. “Abnormal coughs and other symptoms consistent with pertussis should be evaluated by their physician. Pertussis is deadly for high-risk groups.”

For families who want to check their status, the Pasadena Public Health Department offers Tdap shots at its Immunization Clinic, on the second floor at 1845 North Fair Oaks Avenue, Room 2130. Walk-ins and appointments are taken Mondays and Wednesdays, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. The department does not bill insurance; residents can call (626) 744-6121 to confirm vaccine availability, and the Vaccines for Children program covers children whose families cannot afford the shots.