State health department urges whooping cough vaccines

July 20, 2010 12:13:52 PM

Associated Press

State health officials want women in their childbearing years and seniors to get immunized against whooping cough as the epidemic grows.

As of Friday, at least 1,496 cases of whooping cough, or pertussis, have been found statewide, a fivefold increase over the same period last year, said state Department of Public Health epidemiologist Dr. Gil Chavez.

Yuba County has had three cases of whooping cough in the last six months, with the most recent three weeks ago, county spokesman Russ Brown said Monday.

Two Sutter County residents are known to have contracted pertussis this year — an 11-year-old in March and a 16-year-old in June — while another 11-year-old who fell ill in April is being evaluated for the disease, according to Amerjit Bhattal, assistant human services director.

Still, both local and state experts urged people in high-risk groups to get immunized, a classification including women who may become pregnant, grandparents — especially those who provide child care — and any child age 7 or older who is not up to date on immunizations.

"Considering that immunity from pertussis vaccine or disease wears off, and that most adults are susceptible to pertussis, now is the time for Californians to get immunized to protect themselves and their families," Chavez said.

Yuba County's Health and Human Services Department will host clinics on Sunday at the Marysville flea market, July 28 at Yuba College and Aug. 7 in Brownsville.

County residents can also get shots Monday through Friday at the department's building at 5730 Packard Ave. in Linda from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Brown said.

"They're trying to just head this thing off," he said.

Regular pertussis vaccinations are offered in Sutter County from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays at Sutter County Public Health, 1445 Veterans Memorial Circle in Yuba City.

On its website, Marysville Joint Unified School District encouraged high school students and adults who hadn't received the Tdap vaccine booster to get it from the County Health Department.

Women can be vaccinated before pregnancy, during the second or third trimester, or immediately after giving birth, he said.

Sutter County's efforts so far have focused on increasing early awareness of the disease among doctors, said Bhattal, who said the symptoms can be overlooked in patients with other respiratory conditions.

"We're trying our best to get the information out to medical providers, to recognize the disease first," she said. "It's a matter of educating them to keep it on their radar, to think about pertussis."

Sutter County Public Health today plans to launch a web page dedicated to whooping cough awareness, and also is weighing possible radio commercials on regional Spanish-language stations, Bhattal said.

Five Californians have died of whooping cough this year, all of them Latino babies under 3 months of age who were too young to be immunized. Los Angeles County reported Tuesday that a sixth baby died from the disease but didn't have further details about the death.

Another 700 possible cases of whooping cough are under investigation.

A typical case of whooping cough may appear similar to a common cold for up to two weeks, followed by weeks or months of rapid coughing fits that sometimes end with a whooping sound that gives the disease its common name.

Three whooping cough vaccines are administered to children 2 to 6 months of age, with boosters at 15 to 18 months and 4 to 6 years of age. State health officers also recommend further boosters for teenagers and adults younger than 65.

Neither vaccination nor surviving the illness provides lifetime immunity.

Appeal-Democrat reporters Ben van der Meer and Howard Yune contributed to this report.