Pertussis Uptick in the State of South Dakota
According to the South Dakota Department of Health (SD DOH), there has been an increase in pertussis cases across the state. Our district is proactively raising awareness among families and the community by sharing information to help you understand and address pertussis.
According to the SD DOH, pertussis, also known as “whooping cough, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by the bacteria Bordetella Pertussis, which infects the nose, throat and mouth. Pertussis is spread person to person through the air by respiratory droplets. Pertussis can occur at any age, even in adults and teenagers. It can be a serious disease especially for infants, children, and the elderly. Pertussis begins with cold symptoms and a cough which becomes much worse over 1-2 weeks. Pertussis vaccine is usually given to children under age 7 years with a booster dose administered at age 10. The common pertussis vaccination is known as DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis). Please reach out to your health care provider or school nurse if you have questions regarding your immunization record.
Please consider seeing your health care provider for testing if your child develops cough illness. Case finding is important to be able to identify and treat cases and contacts to stop the spread of this illness.
Please visit the SD DOH website:
https://doh.sd.gov/diseases/pertussis-whooping-cough/
https://doh.sd.gov/health-data-reports/data-dashboards/infectious-disease-dashboard/
Please visit the CDC website:
https://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/index.html
Please follow the updated fact sheet for more information: Diseases Fact Sheet – Pertussis (Whooping Cough)