Two new cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, have been reported at two local schools, the County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) announced Friday.
The HHSA said an 8-year-old student at Mission Elementary School in the Oceanside Unified School District developed whooping cough, as well as a 13-year-old student at Patrick Henry High School in the San Diego Unified School District.
Both students were up to date with the pertussis vaccine.
“While it is possible to still get pertussis after being vaccinated, the symptoms are much less severe,” said Wilma Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., public health officer for the County. “Parents should make sure their children have received all the recommended doses of the whooping cough vaccine to keep them healthy.”
The HHSA said these latest reports of whooping cough bring San Diego County’s tally to 96 cases so far in 2012. A total of 400 pertussis cases were reported in 2011.
Pertussis typically starts with a cough and runny nose for one to two weeks, followed by weeks to months of rapid coughing fits that sometimes end with a whooping sound.
If there is a fever, it is usually mild. The disease is treatable with antibiotics.
For more information about whooping cough and vaccination clinics, call the HHSA Immunization Branch at (866) 358-2966 or visit this website.
