Rise in whooping cough cases triggers warning by area health unit

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A local public health unit is warning parents and guardians to keep children’s vaccines up to date after a recent rise in cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough.

Southwestern Public Health, which covers Oxford and Elgin counties including St. Thomas and Woodstock, issued the warning Thursday but did not specify the number of cases being tracked.

The health unit is monitoring cases in schools and is urging anyone with a cough lasting longer than a week to see their family doctor. Students who receive a letter from Southwestern Public Health warning about a possible exposure and who develop a cough also are encouraged to get tested.

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“Staying up to date with vaccinations helps protect your child and those around them against pertussis as well as other vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella,” says Ninh Tran, Southwestern’s medical officer of health. “Untreated pertussis in infants can lead to hospitalization, brain damage and death.”

Symptoms of whooping cough begin with a runny nose or congestion, sneezing, a mild cough and a mild fever. The cough can last two to eight weeks and gets progressively worse, potentially leading to vomiting, trouble breathing and coughing up mucous.

It can be recognized by the whooping sound a child makes when inhaling after a coughing fit, the health unit says. Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics and people are no longer contagious after five days of treatment.

Those who are pregnant are recommended to be vaccinated during every pregnancy between 27 and 32 weeks gestation to protect their infants, who are most at risk of serious infection from pertussis, the health unit says.

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