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SALT LAKE CITY — With a recent increase in pertussis cases, health officials are worried an outbreak is on its way into the valley.
Teenagers and babies are at the highest risk, but it is mostly adults who carry the highly contagious infection, bringing with it an average of 100 days of "whooping cough" for every victim. And while adults and adolescents usually recover, the illness can spread to not-yet-vaccinated newborns, sometimes resulting in hospitalization and even death.
"Salt Lake County last experienced outbreak numbers of pertussis in 2006, when we saw upwards of a 400 percent increase," said Dr. Dagmar Vitek, medical officer with the Salt Lake Valley Health Department. "Considering that we usually see increased pertussis numbers every three to five years, we are probably due for an outbreak about now."
However, officials say the potential impending outbreak, which often begins with a runny nose, could be nipped in the bud if more teens and adults would receive the booster shot — a Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) vaccine, available at various health care providers or county health departments.
- A contagious respiratory illness caused by bacteria
- Also called whooping cough
- Often spread through sneezing and coughing
- Infection usually lasts 6 weeks
- Initial symptoms similar to the common cold
- DTaP vaccinations are offered to help prevent infection
Vaccinations can't be given until 6 months of age, leaving infants unprotected for a while, and the defenses wear down after about 10 to 15 years, requiring a second shot prior to seventh grade. Unless parents opt out of the vaccination program, the pertussis shot is mandated for entry to kindergarten and again in middle school.
"We're seeing an increase in the number of teens getting infected mostly because they need to be vaccinated again," said SLVHD spokeswoman Pamela Davenport. "Teens are at the age when they're starting to kiss, hold hands and share Coke bottles, so it spreads a lot faster."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pertussis reached epidemic levels in California last year, and the state is still reeling from the contagious cough, as more than 8,300 cases have been confirmed, including the deaths of at least 10 infants. Nearly half of those infected in the Sunshine State were hospitalized, the highest since 1947.
Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina are now experiencing the widespread outbreaks that local officials are hoping to avoid.
I would really love to be able to say that while several states struggled with pertussis outbreaks in 2011, Salt Lake County saw only a mild increase.
–Dr. Dagmar Vitek
Utah's latest widespread outbreak was in 2006 when more than 440 cases were reported in the Salt Lake Valley. So far this year, increasing numbers of cases have been showing up in the Salt Lake area, Utah County and Weber and Morgan counties, where most of the state's population lives.
During 2007 and 2008, in Utah, 25 percent of pertussis cases in infants and children landed in the hospital, whereas just 8 percent of adults contracted worsened conditions such as pneumonia.
"A year from now, I would really love to be able to say that while several states struggled with pertussis outbreaks in 2011, Salt Lake County saw only a mild increase in cases," Vitek said.
E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com
