Utahns warned of whooping cough outbreak

Utah health officials are asking residents to protect themselves against whooping cough, or pertussis, by vaccinating their children and getting their own booster shots if they already haven’t done so.

Utah (Standard-Examiner) June 28, 2010 -- Because a recent whooping cough outbreak in California has killed five infants and sickened 910 people, Utah health officials are asking residents to protect themselves by vaccinating their children and getting their own booster shots if they already haven’t done so.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a bacterial disease that passes from person to person.

So far three or four cases have been confirmed each month since the beginning of the year in Weber County, and six have been confirmed so far this month. Davis County is reporting seven cases since the beginning of the year.

“It’s especially hard on infants,” said the Weber-Morgan Health Department public information officer. “Children are required to get the vaccine throughout their childhood and school years, but adults are also susceptible,” she said. “Even if you did receive the vaccine, immunity fades over time, and it is recommended that people get a booster once every 10 years.”

Link: http://www.standard.net/topics/health/2010/06/28/utahns-warned-whooping-cough-outbreak

Source: DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report