Re: Southern OH: Whooping cough cases
Source:
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081220/NEWS01/812200342
Cincinnati.Com ? Local news
Last Updated: 5:59 pm | Saturday, December 20, 2008
Whooping cough shots urged
Booster vaccinations for teens and adults will help curtail whooping cough outbreaks in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, health officials say.
Whooping cough cases ebb and flow from year to year. Local health officials say the region is seeing a spike in infections this year.
The bacterial infection, characterized by severe coughing spasms, can be fatal in infants. Symptoms can last for weeks, although antibiotic treatment is effective.
Northern Kentucky has seen infections double this year. In 2008, 35 cases have been reported, including 17 since September.
From 2003 to 2007, Northern Kentucky saw an average of about 18 whooping cough cases a year.
Statewide, 62 whooping cough cases have been reported in Kentucky since October, compared to 46 last year.
In Greater Cincinnati, Butler County has recorded three cases, with 20 reported in Clermont, 59 in Hamilton and 11 in Warren counties.
On Friday, Warren County health officials asked parents to watch children for signs of infection over the holiday break.
Statewide, 748 whooping cough cases have been reported this year, compared to 837 last year.
The actual number of cases is probably higher than state records reflect, said Milford pediatrician Jeff Drasnin. In older teens and adults, symptoms can be mild enough that people don't go to a doctor.
"With a teenager or an adult, someone middle-aged, you might not know you have it," Drasnin said. "You'll think it's a bad cold and go about your business."
Drasnin said he's seen "a handful" of cases in his Milford practice, but he's hearing from a lot of parents who are worried about their children getting it.
Regionally, most infants get vaccinated as recommended against whooping cough, or pertussis, local health officials say. Guidelines call for babies to be vaccinated at 2, 4 and 6 months, at about 15 months and again before they start kindergarten.
But the vaccine loses its effectiveness as children reach puberty, and it's those middle and high school students who spread the disease.
"The big incubators in the community are the teenagers," Drasnin said. "Their baby immunity has worn off, so they're out spreading it, even if they don't realize they have it."
Steve Katkowsky, district director of the Northern Kentucky Health Department, was one of about 50 health department employees who got a booster shot against whooping cough Friday.
The vaccination will protect him against whooping cough, Katkowsky said, and prevent him from spreading the infection to anyone else.
"It used to be that what we saw with pertussis was you'd see it go through a hospital's newborn nursery," he said. "One baby gets it, and it spreads to everyone else. Now, what we're seeing is community-acquired infection in older children and teens and adults."
Katkowsky and other health officials recommend that children get a booster shot against whooping cough when they're 11 or 12.
Adults should also get a booster shot against the disease, he said, so they don't spread the infection to their children or grandchildren.
Two versions of the vaccine are available - one licensed for children 10 to 18 years old, the other for children and adults 11 to 64. Both protect against pertussis, as well as diphtheria and tetanus.
Several schools have reported whooping cough cases, said Steve Bjornson, medical director of Hamilton County Public Health. When children are diagnosed, they should be kept home from school until they complete a round of antibiotics to fight off the infection.
Sick children's family members, including adults, should also get antibiotics so they don't develop the infection "and then carry it to work with them," Bjornson said.
Hamilton County and Northern Kentucky health officials are working to raise public awareness of the need for whooping cough vaccination.
The vaccine itself is effective for most people, Bjornson said.
Whooping cough outbreaks are cyclical, with higher numbers occurring every three to five years, Bjornson said.
The outbreaks usually occur as the vaccine begins to lose effectiveness in older children and teens.
