Infants most at risk when whooping cough spreads, public health doctor says

Whooping cough spreads easily and is especially dangerous for infants, so getting an outbreak under control is important, says Dr. Yves Léger, the medical health officer in eastern New Brunswick.

An outbreak of whooping cough, a respiratory infection also known as pertussis, was recently declared at Moncton High School after five cases were diagnosed. 

Parents learned the news in a letter sent by Léger, dated March 1, just before students went on March break. 

He said the main reason to control the spread of pertussis is to protect young infants, who can die from it.

"It's a bacteria that spreads quite easily from one person to another especially when we have symptoms," he said in an interview.

Don't ignore symptoms

Léger said the letter sent to parents of Moncton High School students conveyed the main message he wanted to get out. 

"If you have symptoms of pertussis, if you're coughing, get assessed." 

The test for pertussis is simple, and the results come back fairly quickly, he said 

Once treated with antibiotics, a person with whooping cough is no longer contagious.

Léger said symptoms in an adult include a cough that can linger for weeks or even months. 

For younger children and teenagers, pertussis starts out like a cold but after a week or two, the cough worsens.

"Then you start having fits of coughs," Léger said. "So you start coughing non-stop until you're out of breath. Then that is often followed by a whoop, or a high pitched noise that people make when they are catching their breath." 

Léger said can occur over several weeks to a month.

March Break delays clinic

Because of the March Break, the Health Department delayed a clinic to give the booster dose to those who hadn't received theirs.  

"That week definitely puts us back a little bit in terms of being able to hold that clinic."

But the break may help stop or slow down the spread of the disease, he said, "so that may be a positive in one sense."

Statistics from the Department of Heath show 25 to 30 per cent of the Moncton High School population didn't receive the booster shot for pertussis that's offered through a school-based program for Grade 7 students. 

Those students can be immunized at a school clinic being held March 20, two weeks after students return from their break.

Bacteria follow cyclical pattern

While students in New Brunswick have to show proof of immunization before they enter school for kindergarten, no proof is required when students enter high school, he said. 

Asked if this should be considered as a requirement, the medical officer said it could be, but he also wants to encourage people to get their vaccines. 

The disease appears to follow a cyclical pattern, Léger said

"It tends to go up and down with times. Every three to five years, we tend to see increases in pertussis activity."