'It's almost like a coughing attack': Whooping cough cases on the rise

3 months ago 2

SUICIDE PREVENTION. THE HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS WHOOPING COUGH IS SPREADING AROUND A JEFFERSON COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL RIGHT NOW, BUT HEALTH EXPERTS SAY THESE STUDENTS AREN’T THE ONLY ONES DEALING WITH AN OUTBREAK. WVTM 13 EMMA OWEN JOINING US LIVE FROM THE JEFFERSON COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT THIS MORNING, EMMA, THESE OUTBREAKS BEING SEEN REALLY ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW. YEAH SCOTT AND CARLA, THAT’S WHAT DOCTOR WES STUBBLEFIELD WITH THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH TELLS ME. HE SAYS THEY’RE NOT JUST SEEING CASES IN PLACES LIKE CORNER HIGH SCHOOL IN JEFFERSON COUNTY, BUT REALLY IN OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE AND ALSO ACROSS THE U.S. NOW, STUBBLEFIELD SAYS THEY DO SOMETIMES SEE WHOOPING COUGH OUTBREAKS. THEY’RE NOT NECESSARILY RARE, BUT THEY ARE CERTAINLY UNCOMMON. AS FOR THE SYMPTOMS TO LOOK OUT FOR, HE SAYS, AT FIRST, IT’S KIND OF HARD TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN A WHOOPING COUGH AND OTHER RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES, BUT AFTER A COUPLE WEEKS, YOU’LL NOTICE A SEVERE, INTERMITTENT COUGH. HE DESCRIBES IT ALMOST LIKE A COUGHING ATTACK, AND HE SAYS THE SYMPTOMS CAN LAST AS LONG AS 2 TO 3 MONTHS. AND WE DON’T REALLY KNOW WHY IT’S GOING AROUND RIGHT NOW. IT COULD BE JUST NORMAL, SEASONAL VARIATION. IT COULD BE THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE DISEASE, EITHER FROM NOT BEING VACCINATED OR HAVING VACCINES. A LONG TIME AGO, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT IS MORE IS MORE SERIOUS IN PEOPLE WITH UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS LIKE IMMUNE COMPROMISE AND ESPECIALLY IN YOUNG INFANTS AND THAT’S REALLY WHY WE FOCUS ON VACCINATION IS BECAUSE IT CAN BE DEADLY IN YOUNG INFANTS. NOW, STEELE STUBBLEFIELD SAYS PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY WAY TO PREVENT WHOOPING COUGH IS BY BEING VACCINATED, HE SAYS. OTHERWISE, ONCE YOU DO GET WHOOPING COUGH, IT CAN

The highly contagious pertussis, known as whooping cough, is spreading around a Jefferson County high school right now. In a letter to parents, Corner High School said they have a small number of cases but are required to alert families if two or more cases are found. As this illness spreads, Dr. Wes Stubblefield, medical officer with the Alabama Department of Public Health, said cases are not only popping up in Jefferson County but throughout the state and country.He said outbreaks of whooping cough aren't necessarily rare, but they're pretty uncommon."We don't really know why it's going around right now. It could be just normal seasonal variation, it could be that there are a lot of people that are susceptible to the disease, either from not being vaccinated or having vaccines a long time ago," Stubblefield said.Whooping cough is more serious in people with compromised immune systems and infants. Stubblefield said it could even be deadly in babies, which is why they encourage people to get vaccinated."We recommend that anyone who is not up to date on their pertussis vaccine, that they consider getting up to date, that's a good first step," Stubblefield said. "It doesn't prevent you from getting the disease if you've already been exposed, but it may prevent you in a future outbreak."According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of whooping cough cases dropped during the pandemic but is returning to pre-pandemic levels.The CDC said preliminary data found five times as many cases were reported on Oct. 19 of this year compared to the same time the year before. When it comes to whooping cough symptoms, Stubblefield said it can be hard at first to distinguish it from other respiratory illnesses."The first two weeks, which is when people are most contagious, the symptoms are exactly like a cold," Stubblefield said. "After a couple of weeks, usually you start with a very severe, it's an intermittent cough, so it's just an occasional cough, but it's very, very severe and it's almost like a coughing attack.">> WVTM 13 ON-THE-GO: Download our app for freeThe CDC said the intense coughing normally lasts between one to six weeks but, in some cases, can last a couple of months or longer.

The highly contagious pertussis, known as whooping cough, is spreading around a Jefferson County high school right now.

In a letter to parents, Corner High School said they have a small number of cases but are required to alert families if two or more cases are found.

As this illness spreads, Dr. Wes Stubblefield, medical officer with the Alabama Department of Public Health, said cases are not only popping up in Jefferson County but throughout the state and country.

He said outbreaks of whooping cough aren't necessarily rare, but they're pretty uncommon.

"We don't really know why it's going around right now. It could be just normal seasonal variation, it could be that there are a lot of people that are susceptible to the disease, either from not being vaccinated or having vaccines a long time ago," Stubblefield said.

Whooping cough is more serious in people with compromised immune systems and infants. Stubblefield said it could even be deadly in babies, which is why they encourage people to get vaccinated.

"We recommend that anyone who is not up to date on their pertussis vaccine, that they consider getting up to date, that's a good first step," Stubblefield said. "It doesn't prevent you from getting the disease if you've already been exposed, but it may prevent you in a future outbreak."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of whooping cough cases dropped during the pandemic but is returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The CDC said preliminary data found five times as many cases were reported on Oct. 19 of this year compared to the same time the year before.

When it comes to whooping cough symptoms, Stubblefield said it can be hard at first to distinguish it from other respiratory illnesses.

"The first two weeks, which is when people are most contagious, the symptoms are exactly like a cold," Stubblefield said. "After a couple of weeks, usually you start with a very severe, it's an intermittent cough, so it's just an occasional cough, but it's very, very severe and it's almost like a coughing attack."

>> WVTM 13 ON-THE-GO: Download our app for free

The CDC said the intense coughing normally lasts between one to six weeks but, in some cases, can last a couple of months or longer.

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