Two babies in Kentucky have lost their lives to pertussis, also known as whooping cough, as recently reported by the Kentucky Department for Public Health. These deaths, the first pertussis-related since 2018, have refocused attention on a resurging danger once thought largely brought under control in America- vaccine-preventable illnesses.

With over 10,000 cases reported across the country in the first six months of 2025, close to twice as many as the same six months a year ago public health officials are warning an alarm. The epidemic, which tracks with trends in other diseases like measles, coincides with declining childhood vaccination rates, anti-vaccination sentiment, and pandemic-period interruptions of routine vaccination activities.

Whooping cough is a very contagious respiratory infection that is brought on by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, originally described in 1906 by French scientists. Nevertheless, centuries ago, there were mentions of the illness—its earliest probable epidemic was seen in Paris in 1578.

The disease is notorious for its intense, hacking cough that is followed by a piercingly high-pitched "whoop" upon inhalation. In newborns, particularly those too young to be vaccinated, pertussis may cause lethal complications such as pneumonia, seizures, and respiratory distress. Some doctors call it "the 100-day cough" because its duration lasts for many weeks or even months.

According to the World Health Organization, pertussis still causes approximately 160,700 deaths annually in children under the age of five worldwide, a statistic that highlights the ongoing global burden of the disease, especially in settings with limited vaccine coverage.

The two infants who perished in Kentucky in the last six months were not vaccinated, and neither were their mothers while pregnant. These events highlight a key gap in protection that maternal vaccination seeks to close. Babies under 6 weeks are too young to get their first dose of pertussis vaccine, and so remain extremely exposed early in life.

Third-trimester maternal immunization allows for the passing on of protective antibodies to the newborn, protecting them until they are of age to start their own vaccine regimen. Without the added layer of protection, there is a marked increase in risk of severe illness or mortality.

Through June 2025, the U.S. has reported a minimum of 8,485 confirmed cases of pertussis, already passing the 4,266 cases reported for the same period in 2024. For 2024, as reported by the CDC, a combined total of 35,435 cases were reported—more than five times that of 2023 and close to twice that of 2019, the final year before the pandemic.

Kentucky alone has reported 247 cases of pertussis through 2025, after reporting 543 cases in 2024—the largest number in the state since 2012. Across the country, from October 2024 through April 2025, four deaths from pertussis have been reported: two infants, one school-age child, and one adult.

Why Are Whooping Cough Cases Increasing Again?

The return of pertussis in the United States is being fueled by a mix of related factors. One major cause is the cyclical pattern of the disease, since pertussis has epidemic patterns with episodes peaking every two to five years. Although such peaks are anticipated, experts note that the current peak is more severe compared to what is normally seen during normal peaks. Post-pandemic immunity gap is also a crucial factor. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that occurred during 2020 and 2022, pertussis rates decreased significantly because of widespread public health interventions like masking, physical distancing, and closing schools. Since those measures are no longer in effect, numerous persons including children who were left unvaccinated or were missed during their periodic vaccinations since then are now at increased risk for infection. Adding to this problem is the decrease in vaccination coverage, driven by increased misinformation, increased skepticism about the vaccine, and interruptions in access to health care. That decline in immunization, especially in infants and pregnant women, is one of the most urgent priorities driving the national epidemic of pertussis.

How Effective Are Vaccines Against Pertussis?

The pertussis vaccine itself has changed dramatically over the years since it was first introduced in the U.S. in 1914.

Today's acellular form—DTaP for infants and children and Tdap for teens and adults—was introduced in the 1990s as a way to reduce side effects like seizures and high fevers that were caused by the older whole-cell vaccine. Although the acellular vaccine offers robust protection initially, the immunity fades with time. During the first year after completion of the five-dose course of childhood pertussis vaccination, some 98% of children are protected against pertussis.

By the fifth year after the last dose, however, that immunity declines to roughly 65%. This drop highlights the necessity of booster shots in young adulthood and adolescence to ensure sustained protection. While immunity from the current vaccine is not long-term, it still represents the best weapon against severe disease, complications, and mortality. The unvaccinated are 13 times more likely to develop pertussis compared to their vaccinated counterparts, and they have much greater risks of being hospitalized or killed by the disease.

Who Should Be Vaccinated, and When?

The CDC and other top public health organizations suggest:

Infants: Shots at 2, 4, and 6 months, with boosters at 15 months and 4 years.

Adolescents: A Tdap booster dose at 11 or 12 years.

Adults: One Tdap booster in adulthood, with re-vaccination every 10 years.

Pregnant Women: One dose of Tdap between weeks 27–36 of every pregnancy to confer immunity to the newborn through passive antibody transfer.

Local health departments might even suggest extra boosters for people who reside in outbreak-facilitating areas particularly on the West Coast, where states such as California, Washington, and Oregon have seen high case totals this year.

How Can You Protect Yourself and Your Family?

The increase in pertussis cases—and its disastrous effect on babies—underscores the necessity of public education, uniform messaging by health workers, and availability of immunization services. Parents and caregivers should be motivated to keep their own and children's vaccination schedules up to date, especially in communities where disease outbreaks are reported.

Clinicians have a key role in advising maternal immunization and informing families about the signs of whooping cough, which is likely to be confused with the common cold at its initial onset.

The two legendary German twins, Alice and Ellen Kessler, the greatest of entertainers, who rose to fame in the post war era died at the age of 89. They truly were inseparable, as they chose to leave the world in the same way they came, together. The sisters chose medically assisted dying on November 17, as reported by the German newspaper Bild.

The twin had shared that they "no longer wanted to live" and the decision to die together was made together with clarity and intention.

How Does Assisted Dying Work?

In terms of the Kessler Sisters, the police confirmed that there were no signs of foul play. The German Society for Humane Dying also stated that the sisters had chosen assisted suicide. This practice is legal in the country since 2019.

Read: Uruguay Becomes The First Catholic Latin American Country To Legalize Euthanasia

How Is Assisted Dying Different Than Euthanasia?

In assisting dying, the law allows and enables the individuals to self-administer the medication, so the choice and the agency to die remains with the individuals.

What Is Assisted Dying?

This refers to the practice of ending a person's life through medication. However, when the term 'dying' is replaced by 'suicide', the medication is then administered by self, whereas in other procedures, it may be done by a medical professional. Thus the term 'assisted dying' refers to both assisted suicide and euthanasia.

In assisted suicide, the person's will to die matters, and it may not require a terminal diagnosis. However, this definition to varies from country to country.

Also Read: Can Right To Die Be Practiced By Non-Terminally Ill Patients?

In many ways can assisted suicide be practiced including providing lethal medication, or helping the individual travel to another jurisdiction to die.

What Does The Law In Germany Say About Assisted Suicide?

In 2020, Germany's Federal Constitutional Court determined that individual autonomy should include the choice to die. This means that every person could decide for themselves. The law has a wider scope, which also includes any person helping an individual who has chosen to end their life, and they cannot be penalized for doing so. However, this condition only comes from the person who wants to end their life, and the decision must be taken freely.

The debate was introduced in 2015 due to the section 271 of the criminal code, which made assisted suicide almost impossible in Germany. The law stated that anyone who aided someone to take their own life could be jailed for up to three years.

Palliative sedation is administered to prevent suffering and ensure a dignified death. However, medication aims to relieve patients of unbearable pain, this is why its use as an alternative medically assisted suicide raises concerns. Currently, there is no approved medication for medically assisted suicide in Germany. though several medications are could be used, for instance in the United States, severely ill patients receive high doses of sodium pentobarbital and thiopental. However, pentobarbital is only approved for veterinary use in Germany.

In Germany, the intravenous route is often chosen, where the medication is administered through IV, and the patient must be the one opening the infusion. Doctors can assist but should not be directly involved in the act.

Every year on November 19, World COPD Day is organized to raise awareness, share knowledge and discuss ways to reduce the burden of COPD worldwide. COPD stands for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and as per the World Health Organization (WHO), it is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide and has caused 3.5 million deaths in 2021 alone, of the 213 million people who were diagnosed with it. Projections indicate that the number of cases will increase to nearly 600 million by 2050, with a disproportionate rise expected among women and in low-and middle-income countries.

World COPD Day 2025 Theme

The theme for World COPD Day 2025 is 'Short of Breath, Think COPD'.

This year’s theme highlights a crucial issue: despite being the third leading cause of death globally, COPD is still widely overlooked and often misdiagnosed. Although it is a common, preventable, and treatable condition, many patients either remain undiagnosed or receive the wrong treatment. Early and accurate diagnosis can make a major public health difference, leading to better symptom control, improved lung function, and a higher quality of life.

Doctors stress that COPD should be suspected in anyone with persistent breathlessness, chronic cough, sputum production, recurrent lower respiratory infections, or a history of exposure to risk factors such as tobacco smoke, indoor cooking fuels, or occupational pollutants.

World COPD Day Origin

World COPD Day was launched in 2002 by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) in partnership with the WHO. The first event marked a turning point in global respiratory health awareness, encouraging collaboration across continents.

Importance Of World COPD Day

The importance lies in its ability to draw attention to one of the top causes of deaths worldwide. Furthermore, this day promotes awareness by educating the public about COPD symptoms, persistent cough, breathlessness, and chest tightness, which may be mistaken as symptoms of normal aging.

It also encourages prevention of COPD, especially by emphasizing on quitting smoking, improving air quality, and reducing workplace exposures that contribute to COPD.

It also helps in the improvement of healthcare access, supports research and innovation by encouraging collaborations, and reduces stigma by helping patients overcome psychological barrier and seek timely help.

What Is COPD?

As per NHS UK, it is the name for a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties. It includes:

• emphysema – damage to the air sacs in the lungs
• chronic bronchitis – long-term inflammation of the airways

COPD is a common condition that mainly affects middle-aged or older adults who smoke. Many people do not realize they have it.

The breathing problems tend to get gradually worse over time and can limit your normal activities, although treatment can help keep the condition under control.

Common Symptoms of COPD

• shortness of breath, particularly when you're active
• a persistent chesty cough with phlegm – some people may dismiss this as just a "smoker's cough"
• frequent chest infections
• persistent wheezing

Talking about things makes you feel better, and the Thor star Chris Hemsworth is right at it. Now 42, he is opening up about his father, Craig's diagnosis of Alzheimer's and have seen the corrosive effects on his memory and perception already. He is now making the best of it, by having it all documented on film. While he was in the middle of making National Geographic longevity series Limitless, he learned that he too carried two copies of the Alzheimer's signifying gene APOE4, one from each parent. Back then he confronted this on camera, while on shoot, and this feels like a great idea for him to do it again on A Road Trip To Remember, an hour-long documentary that will air on NatGeo.

“There was apprehension about how this would be portrayed,” Hemsworth admits. “I asked Dad what he felt, and he was actually enthusiastic. He wanted to do it.”

The Australian actor is now taking steps to stay mentally and physically fit, especially after knowing that he is predisposed for Alzheimer's disease.

Living With More Awareness Now

Chris, who shares three children with wife Elsa Pataky, says his father's struggles have made him reflect deeply on how he lives. Some hardships in life, he notes, simply can’t be avoided.

“For me, the biggest takeaway was the comfort crisis we face,” he says, as reported in Esquire. “We settle for what’s familiar, even when it’s wrong, because the unknown feels scarier. But pushing against that is where growth happens.”

His father’s reaction to the diagnosis has also taught him that even a grim prognosis can be approached with courage. “It causes fear, but it’s also a reminder not to take anything for granted,” Hemsworth says. “While he can, Dad wants to capture as many memories as possible.”

A Trip Down The Memory Lane

At the time of filming, Craig’s symptoms were sporadic—some memory lapses, moments of confusion, but overall lucidity remained. Alzheimer’s, however, does not improve with time. Knowing this, the father-son duo set out on a cross-country motorbike trip across Australia.

They retraced old memories:

• A house in Melbourne where the family lived in the early ’90s
• A Northern Territory ranch where Craig once wrangled bulls
• A specific bend in an Outback creek where the family played when the boys—Chris, Luke, and Liam—were small

Guided only by a fading photograph and half-recalled memories, they attempted to reconnect with moments that shaped their family’s early years.

The documentary also explores reminiscence therapy, guided by Dr. Suraj Samtani from the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing at the University of Sydney. The technique uses personal memories, photos, and familiar environments to stimulate the hippocampus, the part of the brain most affected by Alzheimer’s.

“One-on-one time with Dad was special,” Chris says. “Growing up, it was always all of us together.”

For Hemsworth, the experience has made one truth clear: the importance of connection.

“It became less about the science and more about the moments together,” he says. “Whether it’s 20 years or 20 days, hold on to every moment. Connect deeply, as often as you can.”