St. Louis County reports rise in pertussis

[proud2BlibKansan]

By CHERYL WITTENAUER
The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS | A spike in the number of whooping cough cases in St. Louis County and other parts of eastern Missouri has health officials calling for more frequent vaccinations.

St. Louis County on Thursday reported 146 cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, so far this year compared to eight last year at this time.

Many of the cases are among children 14 and younger. They were not clustered in one community or school but dispersed throughout the county.

St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin counties in eastern Missouri, and some southeast Missouri counties also are reporting an increase in cases, but the spike is not a statewide phenomenon, experts with the Missouri Department of Health said.

more . . . http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/904403.html

[alittlelark]

1. I got that 2 years ago... horrid experience.

Whooping Cough is wracking. We had a small slew of cases in a short time out here. Fortunately my kids did not get it.

[Warpy]

2. It's fatal in infants

and the recovery period in young children is two years.

I had it some years ago and my own recovery period was eight months.

I'd advise all of you to check with your doctor to make sure you've had a pertussis booster. It's a nasty disease and trust me, you don't want it.