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WHOOPING COUGH OUTBREAK IN CENTRAL WISCONSIN
WPR News - Whooping cough outbreak in central Wisconsin
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Thursday April 19, 2012
by Glen Moberg
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(WAUSAU) Health authorities in central Wisconsin are dealing with an outbreak of whooping cough. The potentially fatal disease is showing up in large numbers among young people.
The greater Wausau area has 36 confirmed cases of whooping cough, and another 99 possible cases, according to Ruth Marx, an epidemiologist with the Marathon County health department, "Most of what we're seeing are school age, ranging from elementary to high school. Truthfully, I don't think we've ever seen as many cases that we've had to investigate as we are doing right now."
Whooping cough, or pertussis, can be fatal, especially for infants that haven't been vaccinated, and for people with lung diseases like asthma and cystic fibrosis. Marx says an infected person first shows common cold symptoms, and then it gets worse, "People have coughing fits where they have trouble catching their breath. They may vomit after coughing. They may exhibit a 'whoop' when they inhale, but that's not always present."
The Marathon County Health Department is trying to spread the word at several area school districts, where numbers are high among eight to ten year olds who haven't yet received their pertussis booster. Marx says people who show symptoms should get tested, and stay home because it can be easily spread, "People are mobile. It's a readily transmitted disease, and even if a person is appropriately vaccinated, it does not totally eliminate their chance of getting the disease."
Ruth Marx says whooping cough cases showed up in high numbers late last year in Taylor and Wood Counties, and the number of infections is up all across the state.
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