San Diego County– Pertussis, also known as whooping-cough, cases continue to mount in San Diego County with 520 confirmed cases in 2014, compared with just 70 at this point in 2013. The total for all of 2013 was 431 cases. State-wide, the number of whooping-cough cases is triple last years rate.
There were 21 new cases reported this week where the public may have been exposed, according to the County Health and Human Services Agency. Those new cases are listed below.
“Pertussis tends to peak in cycles and the last time we saw activity like this was in 2010 when a record 1,179 cases were reported,” said Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H., County public health officer. “We strongly encourage both children and adults to be up-to-date on their vaccinations, especially if they are around young children.”
A typical case of pertussis starts with a cough and runny nose for one to two weeks, followed by weeks to months of rapid coughing fits that sometimes end with a whooping sound. Fever, if present, is usually mild. Antibiotics can lessen the severity of symptoms and prevent the spread of disease to others.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following vaccination schedule:

• Young children need five doses of DTaP by kindergarten: at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15 to 18 months and 4 to 6 years.
• All students entering 7th grade need proof of a whooping-cough booster immunization (Tdap).
• A Tdap booster is recommended for pregnant women during their third trimester of each pregnancy, even if they got a booster before becoming pregnant.
• One dose of Tdap is recommended for adults 19 years of age and older who did not get Tdap as an adolescent.

Parents can obtain the DTaP vaccine series and the Tdap booster shot for themselves and their children through their primary care physicians. Local retail pharmacies offer vaccinations for a fee, and anyone who is not covered by a medical insurance plan can get the shot from a County Public Health Center at minimal or no cost.
For more information about whooping-cough and ongoing vaccination clinics, call the HHSA Immunization Branch at (866) 358-2966, or visit www.sdiz.org.
All of the new pertussis cases reported at the following locations were up-to-date for their age on immunizations, except for the one case noted:

• A person who was not up-to-date with immunizations at Bella Mente Montessori Academy in Vista
• A person at Gold’s Gym Kids Club on Sports Arena Blvd. in San Diego
• A person at Howard Gardner Community School in Chula Vista
• A 5 year-old at Myrtle S. Finney Elementary School in the Chula Vista Elementary School District
• A 7-year-old at Fuerte Elementary School in the Cajon Valley Union School District
• An 8-year-old at Chet F. Harritt School in the Santee School District
• A 9-year-old at Cajon Park Elementary School in the Santee School District
• A 9-year-old at San Luis Rey Elementary School in the Oceanside Unified School District
• A 10-year-old at Dana Middle School in the San Diego Unified School District
• A 10-year-old at Escondido Sports Center in Escondido
• A 10-year-old at Flora Vista Elementary School in the Encinitas Union School District
• A 10-year-old at L.R. Green School in the Escondido Union School District
• A 10-year-old at Sunset View Elementary School in the San Diego Unified School District
• A 10-year-old at Veterans Elementary School in the Chula Vista Elementary School District
• An 11-year-old at De Portola Middle School in the San Diego Unified School District
• An 11-year-old at Thurgood Marshall Middle School in the San Diego Unified School District
• An 11-year-old at Washington Middle School in the Vista Unified School District
• A 14-year-old at Bonita Vista Middle School in the Sweetwater Union High School District
• A 14-year-old at Health Sciences High & Middle College in the San Diego Unified School District
• A 15-year-old in Del Mar Carmel Valley Sharks soccer club in San Diego
• A 16-year-old at Canyon Crest Academy in the San Dieguito Union School District