POPLAR BLUFF (SMNS) -- Butler County Health Department is urging residents to be vaccinated for a respiratory disorder which has shown up in the area again for the first time in four years.
There have been five laboratory confirmed cases of pertussis in Butler County in the last six weeks in children between the ages of 10 and 13, said Sherri Dodson, BCHD nurse and clinic manager. Another case was confirmed in Dunklin County.
"Anytime you have a contagious illness, five cases is considered something to look at," Dodson explained, adding there are likely more cases that have not been confirmed.
Pertussis vaccines are administered at no charge at the health department and are also available at doctors' offices.
The disease is highly contagious and causes flu-like symptoms, including sneezing, a runny nose, cough and fever, which can be followed by increasingly severe coughing spells. Symptoms can last up to two weeks in mild cases. In other cases, coughing attacks may last for many months.
What can be a mild disease in older children, adolescents and adults can be much more severe in infants and young children, Dodson said.
"They can have periods (of coughing) where they can't catch their breath and can't breathe," Dodson explained.
Young children can develop whooping cough, and have coughing spells so severe it causes vomiting.
Pertussis infections among unvaccinated adults and adolescents can contribute to its spread.
"Anyone who works with children less than a year old especially need to be vaccinated," Dodson said.
This includes older adults and grandparents, she said, who often do not realize they need to be vaccinated to protect young grandchildren.
Pertussis is included in the TDap vaccines for those seven and older and DTaP vaccine for children. The vaccine also helps prevent tetanus and diphtheria.
Infants do not receive their final dose of the vaccine until between the ages of 12 and 18 months, Dodson said. Pertussis causes much more severe symptoms in those who are not vaccinated, she said.
The disease is treated with antibiotics, Dodson said.
For more information, contact the health department at 573-785-8478.