Windsor-Essex health unit asks community to update vaccines after whooping cough uptick

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is urging members of the community to update their vaccines following an uptake of pertussis cases.

Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, acting medical officer of health, said some pertussis cases, commonly known as whooping cough, develop a "very severe cough and they develop the characteristicwhooping sound."

"The cough can be so profound that people actually vomit at the end of a coughing spell," he said.

He said the cough can last for many weeks and some people have convulsions and have problems with injury to their brain.

Pneumonia is also a common complication.

"It is an unpleasant illness for many people who develop whooping cough," he said.

"The good news is it's a disease that is preventable by vaccination."

He said most young people in the region have been vaccinated against it.

The health unit is also asking health-care providers to consider whooping cough when evaluating patients with respiratory symptoms.

The WECHU said it's gotten 18 reported cases of the disease since Nov. 1, 2022, an "extraordinaryincrease" in the number of cases.

He said the cases are predominantly among people who are unvaccinated or not adequately vaccinated, and encouraged everyone to ensure vaccinations are up to date.

"Cases have predominately been clustered in the Leamington and Kingsville communities, and exclusively in children who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated,"a WECHU news release said.

The health unit asked parents and guardians particularly of children less than a year old to be alert for symptoms of pertussis, which "start with a runny nose or nasal congestion, sneezing, mild cough, and mild fever" and it is highly contagious.

"Untreated pertussis in infants, young children, and the elderly can lead to complications such as pneumonia, dehydration, brain damage, hospitalization, and death."