Health Whooping cough attacks city
Suspected cases on march to '93 level

by Mark Sproxton
Northern News Services

NNSL (OCT 11/96) - Whooping cough is making its way through the city once again.

Ten cases have been confirmed and about 40 suspected cases have come to light since school began, said Andre Corriveau, medical health officer for the Department of Health and Social Services.

"With whooping cough we tend to see a little year-round, he said. "We usually see one or two cases a month. This is more than we see at any time of the year."

What differentiates pertussis, its medical name, from an ordinary cough is the length of time the disease lasts.

"It can last in the six- to eight-week range and the coughing gets worse at night," Corriveau said. "If people have a cough and it doesn't go away in five to 10 days they should go see a doctor."

Even people who have been immunized for whooping cough should be careful. If they are exposed to enough of the disease they, too, can spread it around, he added.

Whooping cough can make it hard for people to breath. It is more serious for kids who have not been immunized.

Antibiotics can be used to treat the disease, but generally whooping cough has to run its course.

The last outbreak of whooping cough in the city occurred about the same time in 1993 when at least 60 people were diagnosed with the disease.