Whooping cough outbreak hits Yk
Two students given 'precautionary' vaccine
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, November 6, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A public health official says there have been five cases of whooping cough in the city so far this year, pushing the city into outbreak status.
Whooping cough is a bacterial infection that causes a severe cough and can be life threatening to young children.
Dr. Kami Kandola, the territory's deputy chief public health officer, said those cases are spread among three households and so far they have not been linked together.
"We would call it an outbreak when there's three separate households," Kandola said.
A baby is believed to be the latest to be infected with whooping cough, also known as pertussis.
Metro Huculak, superintendent of Yellowknife Education District No.1, told Yellowknifer an infant who has two siblings attending Range Lake North School was diagnosed with the illness.
The siblings were kept at home and given vaccines, he said.
"It was just precautionary because it could spread," Huculak said.
That prompted the school to send a letter home to parents notifying them of the case.
Kandola declined to confirm that the latest case involved a young sibling of a Range Lake student, citing patient privacy.
She said public health workers have taken steps to track the spread of the illness and vaccinate those close to the person infected.
"When we identify pertussis, we typically treat the household that has pertussis so there's no other spread," Kandola said.
Where there's people who would have close contact with those infected, like fellow students in schools, public health officials also warn them so that if others develop symptoms they can get tested.
It's the second warning sent out by a school to parents. The first was in September from William McDonald Middle School.
As of late August, an outbreak of the illness was declared in northern Alberta, with 182 confirmed cases. So far there have been 14 cases across the territory in three communities since the start of the year. Four of those cases were in Hay River in August among teens.
"This is higher than normal," Kandola said.
The territory is considering moving the administration of a vaccine from age 14 to age 12.
Since the territory began providing that vaccine to teens, the incidence of whooping cough has significantly decreased, she said.
As well, pregnant women in their third trimester are being asked to get the vaccine to protect their newborn children.
She said adults should also check their vaccine records to see if they should be updated.
Anyone looking to get the vaccine can call Yellowknife Health and Social Services to get it for free, she said.
The bacterial infection causes serious coughing fits that can lead to choking an vomiting, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Without treatment, the illness can last for months and can cause brain damage or death, the agency stated on its website. It is treated with antibiotics.
The illness is most dangerous for children less than one year old, especially if they have not been vaccinated.
Kandola said the territory sent out notices in September and November to health-care workers advising to monitor for potential whooping cough cases.
The illness can seem like the common cold, but the cough is more persistent.
