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BIDDEFORD, Maine – Maine is experiencing a resurgence of pertussis outbreaks.
Last month alone, there were 40 confirmed cases of pertussis in Maine, up from 16 in February.
Whooping cough is a very contagious respiratory disease that is life-threatening for children. There are currently pertussis outbreaks at Falmouth High School, Thornton Academy in Saco and Great Salt Bay Community School in Damariscotta.
Dr. Meghan May, a professor and expert in infectious diseases at the University of New England, has conducted research on the disease to determine, in part, why she is making a comeback.
"If you have an unvaccinated and untreated person, his death rate is about 40%, which means that 40% of people who have it will die." said May.
May wanted to know why Maine had so many cases of whooping cough, especially among vaccinated children – so she did research on it.
RELATED: Schools in Maine see slight increase in pertussis as vaccine debate continues
May found that some of the vaccinated patients still had whooping cough because the strain received had mutated and the vaccine was not working.
"These guys seem to have high and accelerated mutation rates, and they're moving faster than the rest of the pertussis genome," said May.
The reason why pertussis levels are so high in Maine is not obvious, but Dr. May explained that unvaccinated schoolchildren may be the reason. Maine has one of the lowest vaccination rates for children entering kindergarten in the country.
Dr. May explains that diseases such as whooping cough spread and mutate mainly because they have the opportunity to do so among unvaccinated people.
"If the strains did not circulate in the population, that would never have happened," said May.
Dr. May hopes that her research will improve the vaccine.
"If we can change and adapt the vaccine, we hope the coverage will be bigger," said May. "Then we would not be in the same situation again in 10 years."
If vaccinated, vaccination rates improve.
"My goal is not just a scientist … it's a mom, and it's also a mom who has seen slides in the lungs of babies with whooping cough," said May. "If you have seen them before, you would never risk that for your child."
The Maine legislature is considering a controversial bill that would eliminate philosophical and religious exemptions that allow parents to not vaccinate their school-age children.
RELATED: Mandatory vaccination bill puts pressure on legislators
RELATED: Hundreds of people go to the main residence to testify about the vaccine bill
If approved, Maine would be the 4th state to ban all non-medical exemptions for mandatory vaccines.
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