Pertussis Rates Skyrocketing Locally

Hennepin County is seeing an explosion in pertussis infections.

The county’s 489 cases so far this year are three times more than the 163 cases the county saw in all of 2011, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, causes violent coughing fits and pneumonia. Infants are particularly vulnerable.

It kills about 1.6 percent of its infant victims, but nearly six in 10 infants who catch the illness end up being hospitalized for the severe hacking fits and associated bleeding, bruising and broken ribs the coughing can cause.

The CDC recommends that infants, young children, expectant mothers and any adult in regular contact with children get vaccinated for the disease.

The pertussis immunization—included in the same vaccine that combats diphtheria and tetanus—is one of those Minnesota requires for school attendance under its “no shot, no school” policy. Preschoolers need four of the vaccines, called Tdap/DTaP or Td, and kindergarteners need one more if the fourth shot occurred before 4 years old.

Parents can choose not to have their children vaccinated for medical reasons or if they have a conscientious objection to immunization.

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