US Whooping Cough outbreaks in 4 states

eeyore · Feb 18, 2009

Right now there are four areas in the US that have Whooping Cough outbreaks
18 cases in Idaho, 21 cases in New Jersey, 35 cases in Michigan,8 cases in Maine

Whooping cough outbreak among teens grows in Ada, Elmore counties
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The number of cases of pertussis, also known as whooping cough, in Ada and Elmore counties has climbed to 18, most of them associated with high schools.
Seven people have been diagnosed in Ada County, with six of the victims associated with Eagle High School, according to disease investigators at the Central District Health Department.
Eleven more people have been diagnosed in Elmore County, most of them associated with Mountain Home High School.
“The current trend with this disease seems to be its spread in high school populations.” said Nikki Sakata, program manager for communicable disease control at the health department.
“All persons 11 through 64 years of age should have a Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) vaccination. Those who have not had that booster should get it.”
The ten year average of pertussis cases in the four counties of the Central District Health Department is about 30 cases per year.
Pertussis is a highly communicable, vaccine-preventable disease that lasts for many weeks and is most dangerous to newborns and infants.
Pertussis starts with cold-like symptoms; sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever and a mild cough.
Within two weeks, a severe cough can develop with violent coughing spells.
• A coughing person with pertussis may have a hard time catching his or her breath during a coughing spell and make a high-pitched "whooping" sound.
How can pertussis be prevented?
• If you’ve had an undiagnosed cough for 2 or more weeks call your doctor.
• If you’ve been exposed to a case of pertussis call your doctor.
• Make sure that everyone in your family or household has received all of their recommended pertussis immunizations.
• When you cough or sneeze, do it into your sleeve at the bend of your arm.
• Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.

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http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/657115.html

Whooping cough outbreak hits again
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Cases reported at middle, elementary schools in HunterdonThursday, February 12, 2009 BY MIKE FRASSINELLIStar-Ledger Staff
Just when Hunterdon County health officials hoped they were at the end of one cluster of whooping cough, another outbreak has been discovered at a separate elementary and middle school.
As of yesterday, the county health department had 21 confirmed cases of whooping cough, known formally as pertussis. There also were five probable cases of the contagious disease, and a half-dozen possible cases are under investigation.
Of the first dozen cases, 10 were children at the Clinton Public School and another was a child who came into contact with someone from the Clinton school.
The latest nine cases -- confirmed within the last month -- were children at the elementary and middle school in Union Township. That outbreak also was believed to be started by a youngster who came into contact with someone from the Clinton school.
The number of cases has reached historic proportions in the county.
"At the most, we saw about three confirmed cases in a month," said Karen Alelis, epidemiologist for the health department.
Aside from Hunterdon, there have been no other outbreaks identified in New Jersey this year, said Dawn Thomas, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health. The state typically has a couple hundred cases a year, she said.
Just as they did with the Clinton cases, Hunterdon County health officials were working closely with the nurse at the Union Township school. All of the infected students have been treated with antibiotics and were able to return to school after five days of treatment.
Pertussis is a bacterial infection of the respiratory tract that is usually spread through the air by close, indoor contact with an infected person. It typically is passed by coughing, sneezing or talking.
The infected children had been vaccinated, but the immunity to the vaccine can wane between ages 7 and 9 and there is no licensed vaccine for children in that age group.
Cases reported at middle, elementary schools in Hunterdon
The ages of the children ranged from 7 to 12 in the majority of the local whooping cough cases. In addition to Clinton and Union townships, cases were seen in Three Bridges, Lebanon Borough, Whitehouse and Delaware and Franklin townships.
Pertussis starts with cold-like symptoms and a cough that gets gradually more severe over one to two weeks. Symptoms can include bursts of coughing followed by high-pitch "whoop" noises, loss of breath or vomiting.
Alelis said the county will continue to work with school nurses and local physicians to identify additional cases and make sure they get treated.
"We can't really close out the investigation until we know that we have identified our last case in a particular township," she said.
Cathy Zuercher, a communicable disease nurse with Hunterdon County's health department, said that when she saw the second case from the same school in December, she knew the health department was seeing something out of the ordinary.
"That's when you start to think you are dealing with something a little big bigger," she said. "It's not just an isolated case."
Zuercher said there also has been a greater awareness of the disease locally due to the media attention of the initial pertussis outbreak, the communication between the health department and health providers and the health community's call for people to be tested.
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http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1234416318237150.xml&coll=1

Whooping cough outbreak in Kalamazoo County
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KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A whooping cough outbreak has struck Kalamazoo County and its schools.
The Health Department has called it an outbreak because more people just keep getting sick.
Whooping cough is a respiratory infection that is considered highly contagious. It starts out like a common cold, but in one to two weeks, thick mucus develops, causing some violent coughing. It's the kind of coughing you can't control, children with the infection will have trouble breathing, and sometimes people cough so hard they vomit or even crack ribs.
Health officials have told Newschannel 3 that two children are currently sick, one from Nature's Way Preschool, the other from Winchell Elementary.
The illness is spread through airborne contamination, and is so contagious that when a student is diagnosed the Health Department comes in and makes sure all students are vaccinated. If they are not, they must be vaccinated, go on antibiotics, or stay out of school for 21 days.
The virus can incubate for 21 days, meaning that getting rid of an outbreak can be a long, painstaking process. Winchell Elementary has had to deal with that process, and too many other schools as well.
Whooping cough is a reminder that a cough could mean nothing, or it could be a matter of life and death, especially for people with infant children.
"It was definitely very scary at first," said Brian Shrader, who's daughter was tested for whooping cough, "it's something you think doesn't happen very much at all anymore, so it was definitely a surprise."
The surprise came when the Shrader family got a letter explaining that a student at their oldest daughter's school, Nature's Way Preschool, was diagnosed with whooping cough, known medically as pertussis.
"We've all been coughing all week, so it was kind of coincidental timing, putting two and two together so we rushed over to get tested," said Shrader.
For the Shraders, the test came back negative, but many parents and kids haven't been so lucky. In the month of January, 13 cases of whooping cough have been confirmed in Kalamazoo County.
Linda Vail Buzas of the Kalamazoo County Health Department, says that's reason for concern.
"We definitely have an outbreak going on," said Buzas, "we've had 35 cases between September and the end of December."
In fact, cases of pertussis have been steadily increasing for several years, and although there are some vague theories, no one is sure why.
"What we're seeing though is children who are immunized, completely immunized, are getting pertussis," said Buzas.
The percentage of immunized children contracting whooping cough is a very small percentage. All of the Shrader children have been immunized, and along with good hygiene, that includes regular hand-washing, that will keep children that much safer.
Whooping cough is a bacterial infection, if it is detected early antibiotics can curb the length and severity of the illness.

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http://www.wwmt.com/articles/county_1358546___article.html/kalamazoo_outbreak.html

Another Whooping Cough Outbreak In Maine
AUGUSTA (AP) -- Maine health officials are reporting a whooping cough outbreak in Hancock County.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday that there have been eight cases in the Blue Hill and Brooklin areas. The outbreak involves an elementary school, a middle school and a workplace, and the victims range from 9 to 50 years old.
This is the second outbreak of whooping cough. Nearly two weeks ago, another cluster of cases was reported in the Biddeford-Saco area in York County.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by bacteria that can result in a persistent, severe cough.
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http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=99795&catid=2

Brokor · Feb 18, 2009

My sister-in-law tells me that a bunch of people are coming down with severe flu like symptoms in her neighborhood, located in central PA.

People will continue to see these outbreaks, in part due to the closeness of living, schools breed many types of sicknesses, and because of our poor eating habits. Additionally, we have a corrupt and grossly disturbing political system which cares nothing about its people, with a corporate mindshare propaganda matrix at the helm, so I have no doubt that chemtrails are bad and public water is terrible to consume.

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US Whooping Cough outbreaks in 4 states

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US Whooping Cough outbreaks in 4 states

eeyore Monkey+++

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