Whooping cough cases confirmed in Rankin Inlet and Arviat

Nunavut'sDepartment of Health confirmed cases of whooping cough in Rankin Inlet on Tuesday, and in Arviat, last month.

Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a contagious disease of the throat and lungs.

Dr. Maureen Mayhew, Nunavut's acting chief medical officer, said the number of cases is above average in these communities for this time of year.

In a news release the department says anyone can get whooping cough, but the most severe cases are in children under the age of one.

Parents should keep their sick kids at home to avoid the spread of the illness, the department said.If anyone has a cough thatlasts longer than a week, or anyof the symptoms below, that person should visit a health centre.

Treatment lasts five days and will reduce the risk that that person will infect others.

Symptoms can include:

• trouble breathing
• vomiting after coughing
• coughing that is worse at night
• a high fever (39 C and above) that lasts more than three days

Low levels of vaccination

Whooping cough is preventable with a vaccine, and Mayhewasks that everyone make sure their immunization records are up to date.

Mayhew says recurring outbreaks in the territory indicate vaccinations rates are not as high as the department would like.

She says there is no threshold number to define an outbreak.

"Ideally what we want to do is tap into what we call 'herd immunity,'which is when we get enough of a community vaccinated so that the bacteria can't spread," Mayhew said.

The Nunavut government changed the way immunizations were given when they declared awhooping cough outbreak over in April. The outbreak, which was declared May 2016, saw 154 confirmed cases in 11 communities.

• Nunavut's whooping cough outbreak leads to change in prevention plans

Other techniques to limit the spread of the disease include frequent hand washing, coughing into a sleeve or tissue and not sharing food, drinks, utensils or toothbrushes.