Whooping cough cases on the rise in Connecticut

REGIONAL — An uptick in reported cases of a once common infectious childhood disease has put a new emphasis on the importance of keeping up to date on recommended vaccinations for both children and caregivers.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, as it is referred to within the medical community, has steadily been making a resurgence across much of the United States — including Connecticut — during the past decade, according to local public health officials.

The disease, which is caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis, is spread through the air by infectious droplets and is highly contagious.

The infection initially mimics the symptoms of the common cold, but after a week or two moves into a second stage that includes severe fits of coughing.

The coughing — particularly in infants and small children — can become very violent, with a child coughing until there is little air left in his or her lungs, leading to a loud “whooping� sound as they try to regain their breath.

Before a vaccine against pertussis was available, whooping cough was a major cause of childhood sickness and death in the United States, according to a Connecticut Department of Public Health fact sheet on the disease.

The department reports that from 1940 to 1945, there were more than 1 million reported cases of pertussis across the country.

With the introduction of the vaccine in the 1940s, however, infection rates fell dramatically, dropping to only about 4,400 reported cases a year throughout most of the second half of the last century.

But those numbers are on an upswing.

In fact, the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says it now receives reports of anywhere from 8,000 to 25,000 cases a year, with several states currently dealing with localized outbreaks of whooping cough.

The infection rates have become a crisis in the state of California, leading health officials there to declare a statewide pertussis epidemic last month.

Locally, the problem is less severe, but remains a concern for public health officials across Connecticut.

Susan Sanula, a registered nurse and the immunization coordinator the Torrington Area Health District, told The Journal Monday that while the district has not received any recent reports of cases in its service area — which includes Winsted and Norfolk as well as 17 other municipalities — she did confirm that Connecticut has not been immune to the resurgence of the infectious disease.

“The state is seeing some increased reports of cases,� Sanula told The Journal Monday.

The Farmington Valley Health District, however, has received confirmed reports of whooping cough.

The district includes Barkhamsted, Colebrook, Hartland and New Hartford as part of its 10-town service area.

“We had a couple of cases reported to us in the spring,� Richard Matheny, the district’s director of health, told The Journal Monday.

He added that most reports of infectious diseases, such as pertussis and others,  come from school nurses in the area.

Both Sanula and Methany said the best way to protect a child from becoming infected with whooping cough is immunization.

The recommended pertussis vaccine for children is called DTaP. The combination vaccine protects children against three diseases: diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

For maximum protection against whooping cough, children need five DTaP shots, according to the CDC.

Sanula said children generally receive those shots when they are 2, 4 and 6 months old, with a fourth shot given between 15 and 18 months. A fifth shot is given just before a child enters school, usually somewhere between the ages of 4 to 6 years old.

“It’s the newborns who are not vaccinated who are at the greatest risk,� Sanula said.

Because of this, Sanula said, it is also recommended that new mothers and family members — as well as any adult caregiver of infants and young children — receive an adult booster shot to ramp up their immunity against the disease.

This vaccine, called the TDaP, is a newer adult tetanus shot that also includes the pertussis booster.

“It’s recommended for adults every 10 years,� Sanula said.

Although children are the most frequent age group with reported cases of pertussis, the state Department of Health says that adults are now accounting for a larger percentage of cases than they have in the past.

Still, pertussis is most severe for babies, with more than half of infected children under 1 year requiring hospitalization. According to the CDC, about one in five infants with pertussis get pneumonia (lung infection), and about one in 100 will have convulsions. In rare cases (one in 100), pertussis can be deadly, especially in infants, the CDC says.

The good news locally is that both Sharon Hospital and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital in Torrington told The Journal earlier this week they have not recently treated any patients with the disease.

Many health professionals believe the recent resurgence of whooping cough is related to some parents refusing to have their children receive certain vaccinations, often out of concern over their possible long-term side effects.

Sanula said many infectious diseases are also cyclical, with the numbers of reported cases going up and down over periods of time. Pertussis is one of those, and it appears to be in a more active infection stage right now, she said.

But, whether the disease is in a peak or valley of reported cases, officials say the best way to keep a child healthy, well and whooping cough-free is through immunization.

“It’s important to make sure they’re getting the vaccinations against pertussis,� Sanula said.