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Editorial
Whooping cough latest old disease to make comeback
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
We've made great strides in modern public health, but it's easy to take it for granted.
Unfortunately, old diseases like measles and polio are still around, decades after they should have been wiped out -- perhaps we mean centuries -- bubonic plague bacteria is still being detected in squirrels in the California mountains.
Whooping cough is one such disease. Pertussis earned its common name by the "whooping" sound that sufferers, especially children, make when gasping for air after a fit of coughing.
It's prevented by a standard vaccination, usually in combination with diptheria and tetanus, which is why it's important to keep children up with their shots.
Unfortunately, more cases are being reported in the area served by the Southwest Nebraska Public Health Department, which is prevented by law from disclosing the exact counties affected if the population is lower than 30,000 residents. Safe to say, however, we're all at risk.
"We are watching these whooping cough cases very closely," said Melissa Propp, RN, SWNPHD Surveillance Nurse.
"Our concern is that pertussis in its early stages appears to be nothing more than the common cold. It is often not suspected or diagnosed until the more severe symptoms appear," she said.
Some of the challenges associated with whooping cough:
* Severe coughs associated with whooping cough can last for weeks or months and are usually sudden and violent.
* Coughs in teenagers and adults may be hard to distinguish from colds or influenza (flu) as the whooping sound may not be present.
* Whooping cough is easy to be under-diagnosed and easily spread to infants and children.
* Infected people are most contagious up to about two weeks after the cough begins.
* Whooping cough is spread through coughing and sneezing in close contact with others who then breathe in the pertussis bacteria.
"Being up-to-date with vaccines is especially important for families with and caregivers of new infants," Propp said.
For more information on prevention of whooping cough contact SWNPHD by calling 308-345-4223 or email: nurse@swhealth.ne.gov