Health Department Confirm Cases of Pertussis in Cerro Gordo County

(Mason City) – The Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health has investigated nine cases of pertussis over the past week. Disease Prevention and Investigation Officials urge individuals to check their immunization records to make sure they are up-to-date with the pertussis vaccinations.

The best way to prevent pertussis is to be up-to-date on pertussis vaccinations. Children should receive the pertussis-containing vaccine series beginning at 2 months of age, and routinely complete 5 vaccinations before starting school. By adolescence, immunity from the pre-school vaccination series begins to wane. Adolescents should receive a one-time dose of tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccine at age 11 or 12. Adults 19 years and older who have not previously received Tdap vaccine, should also receive a single dose of Tdap.

Pertussis is highly contagious and can be serious, even deadly for infants. Adolescents and adults who have not received a pertussis-containing vaccination since childhood are no longer immune to the illness; leaving them at risk to spread the disease to young children if they become ill with pertussis.

“Individuals who are around infants and young children such as parents, siblings, grandparents, childcare providers and teachers need to make sure they are vaccinated,” says Karen Crimmings, Disease Prevention & Investigation Service Manager of the Cerro Gordo County Health Department.

It’s especially important that adults who are around children receive pertussis-containing vaccine because they can spread the disease to infants and young children who are too young to be fully immunized; this is called cocooning – providing a cocoon of safety around the child who cannot be vaccinated or is not old enough to be fully vaccinated. In infants, pertussis can be severe and even deadly.

Individuals in need of the vaccine should contact their medical provider or their local health department. The Cerro Gordo County Public Health Department’s Immunization Clinic offers the Tdap vaccine. The Immunization Clinic is open Monday – Friday from 10:00 AM – noon and 12:30 – 4:00 PM.

Officials at the Health Department also encourage individuals who have a cough with the following symptoms to contact their health provider:

• Cause coughing ‘fits,’ making it difficult to breathe.
• Be more severe at night interfering with sleep.
• Bring up thick phlegm.
• Cause vomiting.
• End with a high-pitched ‘whoop’ sound when breathing in after a series of coughs (this is most common among young children).

For more information about immunizations, please visit our website at www.cghealth.com or call (641) 421-9324.