GREENVILLE, S.C. —The South Carolina Department of Public Health reports an increase in pertussis cases, commonly known as whooping cough, with 183 cases statewide as of July 30, up from 147 cases at the same point last year.Breaking Down the NumbersSo far this year, in the Upstate, Abbeville, Cherokee, Laurens, Oconee, and Union counties have not seen any reported cases of pertussis.As of July 30, 2025, Anderson County has seen 13 cases, and Pickens County has 14. Greenville County...
GREENVILLE, S.C. —
The South Carolina Department of Public Health reports an increase in pertussis cases, commonly known as whooping cough, with 183 cases statewide as of July 30, up from 147 cases at the same point last year.
Breaking Down the Numbers
So far this year, in the Upstate, Abbeville, Cherokee, Laurens, Oconee, and Union counties have not seen any reported cases of pertussis.
As of July 30, 2025, Anderson County has seen 13 cases, and Pickens County has 14. Greenville County has experienced a big jump to 24 cases, the second highest in South Carolina. Spartanburg County is the highest in the state, reporting 45 cases.
It is worth noting; DPH did not include Greenwood County in the report for either year.
At this point in 2024, Abbeville, Laurens, Oconee, and Union counties did not have any reported cases of whooping cough.
As of July 30, 2024, Cherokee and Pickens Counties saw fewer than 10 cases combined. Anderson County saw seven, and Greenville County saw 12. However, Spartanburg County saw a whopping 74 cases of whooping cough.
About Pertussis
Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious respiratory illness that spreads through coughing or sneezing. It causes intense coughing fits that can interfere with breathing, eating, and sleeping.
The illness can be especially dangerous for babies, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems.
"We've certainly seen our vaccine rates decrease. especially post-COVID," Dr. Martha Buchanan with DPH said. "Unfortunately. I think it's going to have to take us some time to recover from that."
Symptoms
Common symptoms of whooping cough:
How to protect yourself and others:
Get vaccinated:Health officials say vaccines are the best way to prevent whooping cough.
"If they get the vaccine while they're pregnant, some of that antibody that they make to the vaccine actually gets spread through the placenta to the baby, so when the babies are initially born, they have some of that antibody to this disease already," Dr. Katie Richardson of Prisma Health said.
Here’s what the CDC recommends:
"Especially those infants, when they're less than six months, they're at that increased risk of just stopping breathing with this, and so that's why we place them in our intensive care unit," Richardson said.
Stay home when sick:
Practice good hygiene:
Vaccinations are part of the routine childhood immunization schedule and regularly available for children at:
The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program provides vaccines to children whose parents or guardians may not be able to afford them.