An outbreak of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, has been reported in Madison County: 14 cases, with eight reported Friday and Monday alone.
Pertussis is a highly contagious bacterial infection spread through coughing and sneezing. It is usually preventable through vaccination. However, Edwardsville District 7 officials informed parents Tuesday that one of the cases is a student at Lincoln Middle School, and that case is hardly a single incident.
"It's all over the county," said Debbie Knoll, personal health services manager for the Madison County Health Department. "There's no two (cases) in the same school or the same city."
Still, the outbreak does not necessarily mean the beginning of a massive number of cases. "Hopefully most kids are immunized against pertussis," Knoll said.
However, there were only 16 cases all of last year in Madison County, she said; 14 cases in one month is a matter of concern.
While most people are vaccinated for pertussis as young children, the vaccination requires booster shots that adults rarely receive and thus can spread the disease. Pertussis can lead to serious complications or even death, particularly in infants.
Knoll said the disease usually appears in the winter months, but there were only three cases in January and one in February for Madison County. No cases have reported in St. Clair County, according to health department spokeswoman Marilyn Vise.
Symptoms appear like a common cold -- runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever and a mild cough. But the cough worsens over a week or two, and then turns into what health officials describe as a "spasmodic burst of numerous, rapid coughs." There is a characteristic high-pitched "whoop" in patients' breathing after a coughing episode, which can be so violent that patients turn blue or vomit.
Melanie Arnold, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said pertussis "tends to be cyclical," meaning reported cases rise for a few years and then disappear again. The statewide numbers for April were not yet available.
Vaccinations should be given to infants at 2 months, 4, 6 and 15 months; and another dose at age 4-6. The vaccine usually is combined with the diphtheria and tetanus vaccines.
A new booster vaccination for adolescents and adults, called TDap, was developed in 2005 and is recommended for anyone with routine contact with infants. That includes senior citizens whose vaccinations may be decades out of date, and the CDC's advisory boards recommend any senior citizen who has contact with infants get the booster, Arnold said.
However, it is considered an "off-label" administration of the booster under FDA regulations, and thus senior citizens may have a hard time acquiring it from private physicians or getting private health insurance to pay for it.
St. Clair County Health Department does not do any adult vaccinations, Vise said. Madison County does provide adult vaccinations, including to those over age 65 -- especially during a pertussis outbreak two years ago, Knoll said.
"There was a big push in Illinois to vaccinate everyone," Knoll said. "We went through hundreds of doses, including older folks."
Edwardsville schools have sent more information home with Lincoln students and are encouraging parents who notice symptoms to report them to health care providers. - http://bit.ly/IDmIsv