Whooping cough cases up this year

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Whooping cough is also known as pertussis. Its early symptoms mimic the common cold. Symptoms include a runny nose, sore throat…sometimes a fever, and accompanied by a cough. By the time someone is diagnosed with whooping cough, it may already have spread to others around them.

Dr. Jeff Pernica, who heads the pediatric infectious disease department at McMaster Children’s Hospital, says whooping cough is highly contagious. It mainly affects children and symptoms include extreme coughing spells. “Young infants can die of pertussis, which is why it’s always good to talk about and think about and that’s why vaccination is really a priority. To keep the youngest infants safe. The ones that can’t really get good vaccine protection.”

About 20 years ago, we switched over to a less painful vaccine. Dr. Zhou Xing, an immunology researcher at McMaster University says that new vaccine’s effectiveness may lessen with time, and that could be why we’re seeing an increased number of whooping cough cases. “Receiving the acelluar pertussis vaccine may not trigger as long lasting immunity as the whole cell vaccine.”

The number of whooping cough cases is up this year in Quebec and the Northwest Territories. There are also significant outbreaks in regions of Manitoba and New Brunswick.

Children should receive six whooping cough vaccinations by age sixteen. Adults in Ontario are entitled to a booster shot as well.