An unusually high rate of whooping cough cases in the Interior Health region has health officials reminding residents to ensure their vaccinations are up to date.
Whooping cough, formally known as pertussis, is a serious infection of the airways caused by pertussis bacteria.
Interior Health medical health officer Dr. Muhammad Mukarram, whose primary portfolio is communicable diseases, said the health region is currently seeing the highest number of confirmed cases in B.C.
“In some locations, it’s actually twice the rate of BC ratio,” said Mukarram. “We have had around 150-200 cases across interior health.”
The case count in the Kootenay region is not as high as in areas of the Central and North Okanagan. However, Mukarram said that does not mean the risk is any lower, particularly for infants.
“In infants, cases were higher and the problem with that is most infant cases resulted in hospitalization and even the ICU,” he said.
“So that’s actually very challenging and I’d like to focus my message on everybody who is unvaccinated. Please make sure that your immunization is up to date, regardless of which area of individual health you are.”
The pertussis vaccine is typically administered during childhood in a series of doses, followed by a booster in adolescence. However, immunity can wane over time and additional boosters may be recommended.
“So we try to reach out to people who are younger age and especially pregnant mothers because they are at higher risk to make sure that the targeted population is covered,” noted Mukkaram.
The risk of infection is generally considered higher for those who are unvaccinated, along with infants, young children and pregnant women in their third trimester.
Symptoms begin like those of a common cold, including a runny nose, sneezing, mild fever and a mild cough that worsens over about two weeks. More severe symptoms include repeated, forceful coughing spells that often end with a “whooping” sound before the next breath.
Mukarram said anyone experiencing those symptoms should seek a medical assessment right away.
“If you think that you have pertosis, especially if anybody who has a new or worsening cough that is lasting for weeks, you should seek medical assessment so you could be tested and treatment provided,” he said.
“The good thing is that there are antibiotics that can reduce the legnth of treatment and the severity of the disease. You are actually essentially non-infectious after five days of antibiotics.”
Antibiotics may also be recommended for close contacts of someone with pertussis to help prevent illness.
To prevent its spread, Mukarram recommended that symptomatic individuals stay home and avoid close contact with vulnerable people, in addition to following good hygiene practices.
The pertussis vaccine is free and can be administered through health-care providers.
Mukarram said people can contact their health-care provider to check their vaccination status.
“If you think that you are unimmunized or under-immunized, please make sure that you reach out to your healthcare provider, reach out to the public health, and we’ll make sure that your immunizations are updated,” he said.
More information about pertussis and the pertussis vaccine can be found here.
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