KDHE Home - News 1999 - News Release
Kansas
Department of Health & Environment
Bill Graves, Governor
Clyde D. Graeber, Secretary
For Immediate Release
Contact: Don Brown, 785-296-1529
Whooping Cough Confirmed in Norton County
There have been two culture-confirmed cases of pertussis ("whooping cough") in Norton County recently. One of the confirmed cases works in the correctional facility and may have exposed others in the facility.
Norton County Health Department, the Department of Corrections, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment are working together to control the spread of this disease. Those with close contacts to the cases have been given treatment to avoid getting pertussis.
Pertussis is an infection spread by coughing and sneezing and is easily transmitted. It causes prolonged cough that can last several weeks. Coughing may start suddenly and one cough follow another without a break. Affected individuals may have difficulty eating, drinking, or breathing. Infants and young children are most severely affected and the disease can lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage, and even death.
A person with an unexplained cough of more than two weeks duration or fits of coughing followed by vomiting or stops breathing after coughing should request an evaluation by a physician for pertussis. It can be difficult to diagnose the disease; a culture is the definitive test for pertussis, but the organism can be hard to grow outside the body. Often treatment is started when there is a suspicion of pertussis, without getting confirmation of the disease. Pertussis in adults can be difficult to diagnose from a bad cold, bronchitis, or other respiratory diseases.
Antibiotics can successfully treat the disease, but the cough often lingers for weeks even with successful treatment. People with symptoms who are being treated should stay home until they have taken medication for five of the 14 days of treatment, when they are no longer considered infectious to others. Antibiotics can also be used to prevent individuals from getting the disease if they have been exposed to pertussis.
Vaccines ("shots"), usually given at 2, 4, and 6 months, at 12-15 months, and at school entry can prevent pertussis among young children, who are most severely affected. Immunity wanes over time, but the disease is usually less severe among adolescents and adults. All children in day cares and schools must be up-to-date on their shots.
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