Has ‘100-day cough’ come to US? How to stay safe this holiday season

Health

By Marc Lallanilla

Give your loved ones a gift they’ll really enjoy this holiday season: your elbow.

Amid rising cases of the “100-day cough,” health experts in the UK are asking people to forget about shaking hands and try bumping elbows when greeting friends and family.

The suggestion comes as global rates of respiratory illnesses rise, including whooping cough — also known as pertussis — which causes a severe, long-lasting illness with a cough harsh enough to break a person’s ribs.

Between July and November, there were 716 reported cases of pertussis, which is three times higher than the same period in 2022, the UK’s Independent reported, citing the UK Health Security Agency. 

Though whooping cough cases have not been rising in the US, it’s always a good idea to practice good hygiene and minimize contact with others during the winter season, according to Dr. Bruce Hirsch — especially as COVID cases have risen nearly 30% recently.

“The holidays are a great time to get infected,” Hirsch, infectious disease specialist at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y., told The Post.

“If your cousin is coughing his head off at the dinner table, I would avoid that person,” Hirsch said.

“It’s a good idea to touch elbows instead of shaking hands,” he added, noting that extra precautions are in order “if there’s someone who is frail, elderly or on medication to suppress their immune systems.”

Hirsch warns that “pertussis is one of the more dangerous conditions that can be fatal in a newborn,” though “it causes a miserable infection at any age.”

Global cases of whooping cough and other respiratory illnesses are likely to rise even further as people gather to socialize over the holiday season, Professor Richard Tedder, former head of the Department of Virology at the University College London, told The US Sun.

“People should ensure they are vaccinated and consider using masks to help prevent the spread [of whooping cough],” Tedder said.

“They could also adopt the ‘no hugging or kissing’ rule and use their elbows to greet people,” Tedder added.

Other respiratory illnesses are also likely to spread during the holiday season, Hirsch noted: “Right now in our area, there’s been a rise in flu cases, [and] I’ve been seeing a lot of COVID in my practice,” as well as “a significant amount of RSV.”

And even though those viruses are airborne, Hirsch warns that “hand contact is surprisingly good at transmitting infections, including respiratory infection. We touch our face, eyes, nose and mouth on a regular basis. That’s part of the reason these infections and these pathogens are so successful.”

Medical experts note that even though an effective vaccine for pertussis exists, “it doesn’t last forever, and it tends to wane years after it was given.

“Every pregnant women is asked to take a pertussis vaccine, even if she recently had a pertussis vaccine, to build up her antibody levels and provide her newborn with that protection,” Hirsch said.

His final advice: “Bump elbows with grandma, and don’t let her kiss the new babies.”