What’s Going Around: Whooping Cough

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – We are nearing the end of flu season but that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods yet. Cases of whooping cough or pertussis have been reported in Greene, Christian, and Webster Counties.

“We can confirm it is present in the community but it’s at a low number,” said Whitney Mann, communications and outreach officer for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. “That’s not necessarily atypical, it’s something that we would expect to see during flu season. If we were to see any type of increase we would absolutely put an alert out.”

That’s good news for parents. Mann said infants, small children, and those over 60 with a compromised immune system are the most at risk.

“So with pertussis or whooping cough the character trait that sets it apart from just a typical coughing fit that you might experience from COVID or the flu, it’s little bit more severe,” said Mann. “It does have a longer cycle so you might have runny nose, low-grade fever, and a mild cough that could last for a week or up to two weeks before it turns into a more severe cough. “

Mann said that’s when uncontrollable coughing fits start.

“Typically, with whooping cough, we’re gonna see a cough that is so severe, the fits are so strong that they often lead to vomiting, it’s very hard to control it,” said Mann.

Mann said patients to pay attention to the sound of the cough.

“It’s important to go to your doctor as soon as you have a concern about the coughing fits so that you can get proper care,” said Mann. “Antibiotics are available early in the respiratory cycle.”

Mann is reminding everyone to be up to date on their vaccines.

“Tdap is a very common vaccination that folks receive, both in childhood and adulthood,” said Mann. “If you are a caregiver, or you’re around young children or the elderly, it would be good to make sure that you’re up to date on that Tdap vaccination.”

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