The whooping cough (Pertussis) outbreak is over in New Brunswick.
“Reported cases of whooping cough have diminished greatly in the past weeks and we have declared the outbreak over,” said Dr. Eilish Cleary, chief medical officer of health.
A total of 1,421 cases of whooping cough were reported in 2012 – the largest outbreak ever reported in the province. Children from 10 to 14 years of age were most affected, followed by children 5-9 years of age and infants under 1.
“Different initiatives were put in place during 2012 to fight the rise of whooping cough in New Brunswick, including a two-phased province-wide school-based immunization campaign for students in Grades 6, 7 and 8 in the east and south regions in the spring and students in Grades 7, 8 and 9 in the rest of the province in the fall,” said Cleary.
Cleary reminded New Brunswickers of the importance of being vaccinated and of ensuring they are up-to-date with their immunization according to the New Brunswick Routine Immunization Schedule.
“Immunization offers the best protection against the disease or another outbreak,” she said.
Whooping cough is a disease of the lining of the respiratory tract caused by the Bordetella Pertussis bacterium. It begins with cold-like symptoms, including sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever and mild cough. It worsens over several weeks to include serious coughing spells that often end with a characteristic whoop.
Whooping cough is easily transmitted from person to person, mainly through droplets from the nose, mouth and throat of an infected person.
Individuals who think they or their family members might have whooping cough are encouraged to contact their health-care provider. Those being treated for whooping cough are advised to avoid contact with those who may be at higher risk, particularly children younger than one and pregnant women in their third trimester, until they have taken an appropriate antibiotic for five days.