Nunavut ramps up vaccinations to beat largest whooping cough outbreak on record

The Nunavut government wants to get all Grade 6 to 9 students in the territory immunized by Christmas as it struggles to contain the territory's largest whooping cough outbreak on record, a news release says.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a disease of the throat and lungs that spreads from person to person and can be very serious or fatal. Symptoms include a cough followed by an unusual "whoop" sound or a funny-sounding cough, or vomiting or having difficulty breathing after coughing.

The outbreak began last March and has affected many communities in the Qikiqtaaluk and Kivalliq regions of Nunavut, and across the territory.

Community public health or health centres can provide more information on when and how the immunization will be delivered in communities, according to the health department.

• Whooping cough outbreak has now spread throughout territory: Nunavut officials
• 'We have not seen it stop': Canada's public health agency to review respiratory illness in Nunavut babies