Five cases of pertussis, commonly known as Whooping Cough, have been confirmed in the Panhandle over the last 3 weeks. The disease can be fatal, especially in very young children.
Public Health Nurse Becky Corman of the Panhandle Public Health District says her agency has been working closely with local medical providers to identify individuals who may have had contact with the 5 whooping cough cases so that they can be checked and immunized or treated.
Corman says the primary pertussis vaccination is usually given at 2, 4, 6, and 15-18 months with a booster at 4-6 years. most Americans were immunized as children, but the immunity wanes over time so nearly all adolescents and adults are susceptible to pertussis if they haven’t received a booster.
That’s why those who’ve been in contact with an infected individual may be given antibiotics as a precaution. Two pertussis vaccines approved for adolescents and adults are now included in the tetanus booster, and it’s now recommended to use this new one-time boost to replace the old tetanus booster needed every 10 years.
Because whooping cough is easily spread to other people through the air by coughing or sneezing, and because it is so harmful in babies, Corman says everyone around infants need to be vaccinated to create a circle of protection.
The most common symptom of pertussis is a lingering cough that worsens over a week or two. Children and babies can cough very hard, over and over, forcing them to gasp for breath with the “whooping” sound that gives the disease its common name.
. Coughing can make it hard to breathe, eat drink or sleep. Babies and young children may turn blue while coughing from lack of oxygen. In adults and adolescents, coughs from pertussis may be difficult to distinguish from colds or influenza so anyone with a chronic cough lasting weeks or months should be checked by a doctor.
More information on Whooping Cough is available from the Panhandle Public Health District online at www.pphd.org or by phone toll free 866-701-7173 at 308-487-3600, extension106. The agency serves Dawes, Sioux, Sheridan, Cheyenne, Morrill, Banner, Garden, Kimball, Deuel and Box Butte counties.