Liston Daily

The cases of whooping cough (pertussis) in California has reached epidemic proportions. As of June 15, 910 cases and 5 deaths have been reported. Local health officials are also investigating another 600 cases that are suspected to be more pertussis cases. The five who have died are infants.

“Whooping cough is now an epidemic in California, children should be vaccinated against the disease and parents, family members and caregivers of infants need a booster shot,” director of the California Department of Public Health Dr. Mark Horton said in a statement.

Whooping cough is so named because spasms of coughing are punctuated by a characteristic "whoop" when the person inhales.

Whooping cough is highly infectious, the bacteria that causes it (Bordetella pertussis) is spread by contact with droplets coughed out by someone with the disease or by contact with recently contaminated hard surfaces upon which the droplets landed. Exposure to the sneezing and coughing of a person with whooping cough is enough to get one infected. The incubation period of the bacteria usually takes a week. Symptoms of infection include coughing and runny nose that last for about two weeks then it will be followed by many weeks or months of coughing fits that are rapid and usually ends with the “whooping” sound. Infants and small children are extremely vulnerable to this disease and the mortality rate is quite high in children.

Whooping cough can be prevented with immunization, but the problem is that some parents do not really believe that the immunization is effective that is why they are not compelled to have their children get immunized.