Parents at this end of the Fraser Health Authority - which runs from neighbouring Burnaby, through New Westminster and up to Boston Bar - can take a deep breath of relief over the recent news about a whooping cough outbreak in Hope.
There's no reason to think the highly infectious disease will spread this way, say health officials - but the outbreak is a good reminder to make sure childhood vaccinations are kept up to date.
The health authority announced last week that there had been at least 20 cases of pertussis, known as whooping cough, in the tiny town of Hope; 15 of those cases had cropped up in December alone.
But the efforts to contain the outbreak are looking to be successful, says chief medical officer Dr. Paul Van Buynder.
"We're not concerned it will spread outside the Hope community," he told The Record this week. "We've done a lot of public activity there - a lot of additional vaccination clinics, and doctors are treating all suspicious cases early. We've changed the vaccination schedule to give young children (in that community) their vaccines at an earlier stage."
"I'm hopeful that the combination of those three things are going to bring it under control."
Van Buynder said the residents in the area have responded positively to the campaign, with adults that come in regular contact with babies - who are most affected by pertussis - getting booster shots.
Because it takes time for the vaccination to work at a protective level in infants, part of the effort in Hope has included speeding up the normal schedule of vaccination.
Typically, children in B.C. get a pertussis vaccination at two months, four months and six months, with an additional booster at 18 months. In Hope, they've backed that up to six weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks.
"So they're getting a third vaccine just over the third month of age," he said, in hopes of upping early protection.
So far, he says, they aren't hearing concerns about the changes.
"We're really, really pleased, we've had hundreds of people coming to the clinics," he said.
Van Buynder says that the outbreak may be attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that the current type of vaccine being used isn't as strong as the older version.
"The vaccine we used to use was very powerful, but it had more side effects - the new vaccines are less likely to produce sore arms or fevers, but the vaccine (effect) doesn't last as long."
Additionally, the protection offered by childhood vaccinations lasts for four to 10 years, lessening as the child ages; adults are less likely to get natural "boosters" from exposure because the disease is less prevalent now. That leads to less immunity among the adult population, which is a risk for babies and young children, who are most at risk of complications, because the infection is so easily spread.
"For influenza, for example, you have to be relatively close to someone (to get their germs), but this can spread much more easily and rapidly."
Once infected, individuals can get severe coughing that can last for months; the cough can become so bad that it causes people to gag or throw up and makes it difficult to catch their breath.
"For children under one (who develop whooping cough), about half will end up hospitalized. Of those, about two per cent will pass away. It's a high rate (of mortality) for an infectious disease."
He notes that this outbreak was a minor one compared to significant outbreaks in recent years in California and Washington State.
Though there's been an increasing number of parents in North America not vaccinating their children, Van Buynder says that doesn't seem to be a component in the Hope outbreak.
"We don't think that's part of what we are seeing here," he said. "But there are some areas of the Fraser Valley where we have significant pockets of people not having their children vaccinated."
As for people in other areas of the health region, including New Westminster, the recommendations revert to the current standard vaccination schedule.
"At this point, we're not recommending boosters for adults outside the Hope area. (For parents) we'd say, make sure their children are fully vaccinated," he said.
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