HEALTH ALERTS

For Immediate Release

Thursday, May 23, 1997

Contact: Joan Baumbach, MD, MPH District Health Officer (505) 524-6140

Luis Castellanos, MD, PhD Epidemiologist (505) 646-7966; 1-800-784-0394 Pager 1-800-999-6710, ID 990-8862

The New Mexico Department of Health in Las Cruces received confirmation this week of a case of whooping cough (pertussis) in a 6-month old infant. The child was up to date on immunizations according to age.

Whooping cough is a bacterial disease that can affect persons of all ages. Many persons have only a persistent cough from the infection, but young children and non-immunized persons can have severe symptoms with serious consequences. Treatment with certain antibiotics can prevent persons with pertussis from spreading it to others. Antibiotic treatment also prevents individuals who come into close contact with persons who have pertussis from contracting the disease. Although infants with pertussis-related complications may require hospitalization, most patients will develop only a milder illness.

Pertussis can begin with a runny nose, mild sore throat and other symptoms suggestive of a common cold. Persons with the disease usually develop a cough after the first week, and they can experience spasms of coughing that end with the whoop that gives the disease its common name.

Local health officials in Las Cruces are trying to identify new cases of whooping cough and those who may have had close contact with persons with the disease so that they can be treated with preventive antibiotics.

Pertussis is present in all regions of the United States, and over 7,500 cases were reported nationwide in 1996. The reported incidence of the disease in New Mexico is usually higher than the national incidence. In 1996, over 60 cases of this illness were reported in New Mexico, although only 2 were from residents of Doņa Ana County. Since not all cases of the disease can be laboratory-confirmed, the actual number of cases in the state may be greater than the cases reported to state officials.

The Department of Health offers the following recommendations for dealing with pertussis:

1-Infants should receive their first pertussis vaccine (the DTP shot) at two months of age, and children should complete the entire series of five shots by age six.
2-Anyone who has been in contact with a person with suspected or confirmed pertussis should seek medical advice from their private health care practitioner or local health office. Anyone with an undiagnosed cough lasting longer than two weeks without another diagnosis should seek medical attention.
3-Anyone who has been diagnosed with pertussis, either by clinical or laboratory means, should stay home and avoid contact with persons outside their family for five days after beginning antibiotic therapy.
4-Persons being treated for pertussis should make sure that they complete the full 14 days of therapy to prevent relapse and further spread of the disease.

The pertussis vaccine, part of the routine vaccination series for children (DTP and/or DTaP), is credited with drastically reducing the number of cases of pertussis and the number of deaths caused by this disease in the United States. However, the protection provided by the vaccine decreases with age, so persons who received the vaccine as children can still contract pertussis (although generally in a milder form). "Vaccination is still the most important step parents can take to protect their children from pertussis," said Dr. Joan Baumbach, District III Health Officer with the Department of Health. The vaccine is recommended for all children unless they have a specific medical reason to avoid the vaccine.

Persons older than seven years are more likely to have side effects from the vaccine, and it does not protect them from getting pertussis. These individuals should not receive the vaccine, even if they were not vaccinated when they were younger.

If you have any questions, please contact your health care provider. or call Dr. Joan Baumbach, 524-6144 or Dr. Luis Castellanos, 646-7966 or 1-800-784-0394, at the New Mexico Department of Health in Las Cruces.