No new measles cases in Louisiana, but whooping cough already has exceeded 2024 total in state

BATON ROUGE, La. (WVUE) – No new measles cases have been detected in Louisiana, but the number of whooping cough patients continues to grow and already has exceeded the state’s total for all of 2024, state health officials said Wednesday (May 14).

The Louisiana Department of Health said that it had concluded its epidemiological investigation regarding measles on May 9. The agency said no new cases had been detected in the state since two related adults turned up with the highly contagious disease in April, somewhere in Region 1 (Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard or Plaquemines parishes).

The LDH said one of the two measles patients had recently traveled internationally and was unvaccinated. The vaccination status of the second measles patient was “unknown,” the LDH said. Neither patient required hospitalization.

“The most effective way to prevent measles is through immunization,” the agency said. “Two doses of the MMR vaccine are highly effective at preventing measles.”

The news on whooping cough was not as positive. The LDH said six new cases have appeared in the state since the agency’s last update on May 2, bringing the total this year to 170.

That surpasses the entire yearly total for 2024, when 154 cases were reported. Louisiana is on pace to set a record for the number of whooping cough cases in a single year, exceeding the 214 cases reported in 2013.

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