Cases of Pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, are on the rise in El Paso County, and Pertussis outbreaks are having an impact. The El Paso County Department of Health and Environment is calling on the public to get immunized and take other steps to prevent the transmission of this serious illness.Pertussis levels are cyclical every few years; and, in 2010, it appears that numbers are rising well above what has been reported in recent years, particularly in California, where nine infant deaths have occurred.In Colorado, from January through September, 176 cases of Pertussis have been reported, 17 of which were in El Paso County. The highest number of cases reported in Colorado previously was in 2005, when Colorado reported 1,383 cases of Pertussis with 62 of those in El Paso County. Outbreaks have contributed to more than half of the El Paso County cases this year.”It is extremely important that parents be on the lookout for symptoms of Pertussis to prevent older children and adults from bringing it home to younger children who could experience a very serious illness,” said Dr. Bernadette Albanese, M.D., M.P.H., medical director at the Health Department.Pertussis can be especially life-threatening for infants who are too young to have received their full set of immunizations against Pertussis. Babies cannot begin the first of the three recommended Pertussis vaccinations for infants until they are at least 6 weeks old.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1.3 percent of babies younger than 1 month of age who get Pertussis will die of the disease.During the first week or two of Pertussis, symptoms can include a low-grade fever, runny nose and mild cough. But symptoms progressively worsen over the course of several weeks and can include attacks of severe coughing and a high-pitched “whoop” upon inhaling. Difficulty breathing can cause lips and fingernails to turn blue, and cases often include vomiting after severe bouts of coughing. Infants can stop breathing and suffer brain complications.Often symptoms can go unrecognized for a long time until the coughing becomes severe, Albanese said.”Patients and health care providers may assume a cough illness is a cold, bronchitis or pneumonia, and adults don’t always have the ‘whoop,’ so they may not seek care,” Albanese added. “And sadly, these people are contagious and are a source of infection for their family or other people around them.”Public health is all about prevention, and we have Pertussis vaccines that are effective in children and in adults.”To protect yourself and your family from Pertussis:
- Ensure that children, adolescents and adults are up to date on their Pertussis immunizations. Infants and young children should receive a full set of DTaP vaccine; older children and adults should receive booster doses with Tdap.
- If you have a cough illness that is worsening and associated with severe fits of coughing, contact your health care provider for an evaluation. People with Pertussis need to be treated with an appropriate antibiotic to reduce the chances of infecting other people.
- Wash your hands properly and often.
