Whooping cough makes appearance in Ravalli County
By TIMOTHY MITCHELL Staff Reporter
Pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, has been diagnosed in five children in Ravalli County. As of Friday the potentially fatal children's disease had been confirmed in at least two schools and a daycare center in the Bitterroot Valley, according to the Ravalli County Public Health Nurse Judy Griffin.
Griffin would not call it an outbreak, but referred to the cases as a "significant number."
All of the physicians in the Bitterroot have been informed and given a manual published by the federal Centers for Disease Control advising how health care professionals can cope with the situation.
Whooping cough is a highly contagious illness and can be one of the most deadly for infants and small children worldwide. The most recognizable symptom is the violent coughing. In fact, in the early stages, whooping cough can mimic a cold.
Pertussis can occur at any age, but 75 percent of reported cases are in infants under one year of age, according to Griffin.
"Babies under a year need to be watched closely and parents of children under seven should be diligent," she said.
"It is important to note that older siblings and adults can carry the disease and can be considered a link to the spread of the infection," Griffin said.
The easiest way to stop the spread of whooping cough is immunization. Griffin suggests good old fashioned common sense and parents being observant as the best ways to get the problem under control.
Once a patient is treated, Griffin says, a persistent cough may linger for several weeks even though that person is no longer contagious. The disease usually takes five to 10 days to incubate.
The person can be infectious as soon as seven days after infection and that can last up to three weeks after the onset of the coughing episodes.
Some of the complications associated with whooping cough are severe brain damage, convulsions, pneumonia, middle ear infections, loss of appetite, dehydration, difficulty breathing and death, according to the Department of Public Health and Human Services.
In Montana 10 to 30 cases of whooping cough are reported and confirmed each year, Griffin said.
She is asking parents to scrutinize their children's immunization records to ensure all of the children are current in their vaccinations. Griffin said her office would be willing to hold a special immunization clinic if needed.
For more information contact Ravalli County Public Health office, 375-6261 or 375-6259, or Montana Communicable Disease Surveillance Coordinator Jim Murphy at 1-406-444-0274.
Reporter Timothy Mitchell can be reached at 363-3300 or tmitchell@ravallirepublic.com
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