Rochester Area Battling Whooping Cough Outbreak
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Schools in southeastern Minnesota are battling a whooping cough outbreak.
Health leaders in the state say this surge of cases in Olmsted County, thankfully, seems isolated. But whooping cough, or pertussis as it's also called, is certainly around this year.
There have been 116 cases reported in Hennepin County thus far. Here is how to see how many cases are in your county.
Olmsted County officials say at least three dozen people have caught pertussis since the start of last month. That's a highly-contagious respiratory infection.
At Lourdes High School in Rochester, they had to cancel two games because so many hockey players were sick. Whooping cough is characterized by a high-pitched cough some people cough so hard they vomit or break a rib.
So what are the signs that you might have whooping cough? A cough that is constant or a cough that lasts more than two weeks. It can also be so serious that some people die from it. Typically, though, it is treated with antibiotics.
"It is contagious, just with contact and droplets, so coughing would spread from one person to the other, and it can give people a really pronounced and prolonged cough so that you can be coughing from weeks to months afterwards," Dr. Gigi Chawla with Children's Hospital said.
The Minnesota Department of Health says even though most babies are vaccinated, they wear off. They suggest teens, adults and pregnant moms get a Tdep vaccine. They also say if you think your child may have it, get to a doctor right away.
Here is more information on whooping cough from Hennepin County Medical Center.