Lethbridge Community Health Centre. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Whooping cough cases double in one week, spread to Taber & Bow Island

Oct 24, 2019 | 12:38 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Alberta Health Services has confirmed a high number of cases of pertussis (whooping cough) in the south zone.

Officials declared an outbreak of the disease on Wednesday, October 16th, reporting that 15 cases had been confirmed in the two weeks prior.

Now, just one week later, that has more than doubled to 31 in three weeks.

“The concern is that there is a spectrum of illness. Some people may have mild disease and some have very serious illness,” says Lead Medical Health Officer Dr. Vivien Suttorp. “The mild disease we don’t know about, so with 31 confirmed cases in these last three weeks, that implies that there are more cases out there.”

Up until now, pertussis has been mainly contained to Fort MacLeod, Raymond, Lethbridge, and Lethbridge Country, but she reports that it has now spread to areas like Taber and Bow Island.

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Given how quickly whooping cough has spread, Dr. Suttorp says it is likely that it might be detected in other communities as well.

“The main message is, if you know you’ve been exposed to a confirmed case of whooping cough and you are aware of early symptoms, seek medical treatment early. There are antibiotics that can change the course of the disease if given early in the first couple of days.”

If you are unsure of whether you have been exposed to whooping cough, Dr. Support says the “Hallmark feature” for knowing if you need to seek medical attention is an ongoing cough that persists for a couple of days after a runny nose and a low-grade fever goes away.

She told media that, as a whole region, the immunization rates in the South Zone are in line with other zones in Alberta, but the communities that have lower vaccination rates have higher rates of whooping cough.

“Many people are vulnerable to this disease. Most people who are immunized don’t get it, but again, the vaccine isn’t 100% effective.”

Pregnant women and infants under two months of age are the most at-risk of contracting whooping cough and can suffer the most from it.

“It is very important that pregnant women are aware of the access and the recommendation to receive a dose of pertussis-containing vaccine in third trimester. That allows the mother to build antibodies to boost her own immune response, and those antibodies will passively transfer to the baby and then that baby is then protected for those two months.”

In a majority of the confirmed cases in southern Alberta, people have either not been immunized at all or are not up to date with their vaccinations.

You can check your vaccination status on the Health Link website or see the routine vaccination schedule online here.