Fairfax County Sees 55 Percent Increase in Whooping Cough Cases

Fairfax County saw a jump in whooping cough cases between 2010 and 2011, its health department reports: From 33 cases in 2010 to 51 cases in 2011, according to Glen Barbour, Public Safety Information Officer for the Fairfax County Health Department.

After receiving a supply of free whooping cough vaccine (known as "Tdap booster vaccine") from the Virginia Department of Health, the county is offering the vaccine free to individuals who are 19 and older. Interested residents may receive a free Tdap booster from the Health Department. Residents may make an appointment for a vaccine by calling one of the county's five clinic locations which are posted online.

The amount of whooping cough cases is likely even higher than reported. "...These cases represent only a portion of the illness present in the community as many cases go undiagnosed and unreported," said Peter Troell, MD, MPH, who is a medical epidemiologist with the Fairfax County Health Department.

Babies who are 1 year and younger—especially those two months and younger who are too young to be vaccinated—are at risk for catching whooping cough and dying or being hospitalized, Troell said.

The sounds of pertussis are marked by a “whoop” made when gasping for breath after a severe coughing attack.

Anyone who is around babies and infants should be vaccinated, he urged.

Nearly half of infants who get pertussis will need to be hospitalized and approximately 1 in 100 of those hospitalized will die, he said. "It is extremely important that everyone checks with their physician to ensure that they are fully vaccinated against pertussis, particularly if you have or will have contact with children less than one year of age."

Vaccinating parents and caregivers of infants helps to create a "cocoon of protection" around children too young to be vaccinated, he noted.

Think you're protected because you've already been vaccinated? You need a "booster shot," the CDC recommends. The protection created by initial vaccine doses, given between the ages of 2 months and 6 years, wanes over time, Troell said. 

Older children and adults need to receive the booster dose to be fully protected, he said. This booster dose is now required for 6th grade entry in Virginia, so most kids receive Tdap. However, the number of adults who have received this booster dose is quite low because it was not required for school entry in Virginia until 2006. A Tdap booster is now recommended for adults who have not yet received this vaccine.

How it spreads:

Pertussis is spread through contact with respiratory secretions, primarily through coughing and sneezing. Vaccination is the most effective means to prevent pertussis. Practicing frequent and thorough handwashing and covering coughs and sneezes with the upper sleeve or a tissue can also help limit the spread of pertussis and other respiratory infections. 

Symptoms:

• Runny nose
• Low-grade fever (generally minimal throughout the course of the disease)
• Mild, occasional cough
• Apnea—a pause in breathing (in infants)

Women who are expecting can read more about receiving the vaccine on the CDC Web site here.