By Karen Aney (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 14, 2012
By now, most people reading this know there’s been an outbreak of whooping cough in the Fraser Valley. For those of you that haven’t heard – hey, there’s been an outbreak of whooping cough in the Fraser Valley! The first reported cases came out of Chilliwack, and like The Walking Dead, we tried to quarantine them – but, like with The Walking Dead, we all know how well that worked out. Since it isn’t logical to quarantine an entire city, here’s what you need to know about whooping cough.
Whooping cough is actually the common name for what’s called Pertussis, the scientific name for which is Bordetella Pertussis. To be fair, you probably don’t need to know that – but it may come up on Jeopardy one day. If you’re on the show, and knowing the answer wins you some cash, cheques can be made out to The Cascade. What you should know are the symptoms: many assume that the disease manifests itself only as an intensely bad cough, but that’s not quite accurate. The first symptoms are often easily confused with those of the common cold – or even just feeling a little bit under the weather. Initially, Pertussis can show up as a slight fever (below 102 degrees) or a slightly runny nose, and a bit of a headache. No, that’s not an editing error – pertussis can start off with no cough at all. For adults, it typically takes about 10 days of those symptoms to develop into the more advanced whooping cough symptoms: a persistent cough, plaguing the victim with long coughing fits that can sometimes end in vomiting as a result of lack of oxygen.
The “whoop” after which whooping cough is named, comes from the characteristic “whooping” sound of the intake of breath at the end of pertusis-related coughing fit. However, the disease is perhaps misnamed: the whoop is incredibly rare in the majority of cases, typically only occurring in young children or the elderly. What’s the takeaway? Pertussis, despite its advanced symptoms, is generally indiscernible from the common cold in adults.
Why is this an issue? Though pertussis is much like a common cold for adults, it can be fatal or permanently disable young children and infants. More dangerously, the disease spreads quickly: the severe symptoms take 10 days to show after the initial symptoms, and the initial symptoms can take up to 14 days to show after the initial infection. The disease is spread both through direct contact and also through bacteria-laden particles in the air.
Treatment is difficult, because the disease is often so far advanced before it can be diagnosed. Antibiotics can hasten the healing process and reduce symptoms, but are ineffectual for infants. Because of this, Health Canada recommends that children be immunized – a service which is available for free through Health Canada. As an adult, you can also be immunized, and it is recomended that you do so if you will be in contact with any youth. Some walk-in clinics may not have the vaccination on hand, so call your local clinic or family doctor and finding out the best place for you to be immunized.
The whooping cough, although it sounds like disease that only our great-great-grandparents would have had to deal with, is still active and dangerous.
More information regarding the recent whooping cough outbreak, among other topics, will be presented by UFV Nursing students at the Health Fair at Cottonwood Mall in Chilliwack on Friday, March 16.
