New cases of whooping cough are still being reported in the Fraser Health Region, but the number is in decline, according to the health authority.
"In recent weeks it's slowed to several new cases per week, as opposed to a high of 20 or so per week in the January-February period," said Fraser Health spokesperson Roy Thorpe-Dorward on Tuesday. "There are fluctuations in the numbers, and we're not necessarily saying the outbreak is over, but we are seeing a trend in the right direction, for sure."
The outbreak began in Hope and Chilliwack in August and peaked in January this year.
As of April 3, there have been 178 confirmed cases and 58 suspected cases of whooping cough in the Fraser Health Region. In New Westminster, there have been six confirmed cases, though the true number is likely higher, says Thorpe-Dorward, since some cases go undiagnosed or unreported.
The health region runs from Boston Bar to Burnaby, including New Westminster, Coquitlam, Delta, Surrey, Langley, Maple Ridge and Abbotsford, covering more than 1.6 million people.
"We're continuing to recommend that adults who are in contact with young children - parents and other care givers - see their doctor or go into one of the pharmacies offering the free vaccines," Thorpe-Dorward said. "And the other thing we're asking parents is to ensure is that their children's immunizations records are up to date, and to call their local health unit if they have questions about that."
The recommendation for the free vaccine includes pregnant women and their partners.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a highly contagious disease that causes severe coughing that may last for months. It can be potentially fatal for young children and babies; more than half of infants under a year who contract whooping cough will be hospitalized and, of those, a small percentage can die. The disease spreads easily through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes or even laughs. Symptoms appear about seven to 14 days after infection, looking initially like a cold with runny rose, low fever and mild cough, but the cough will continue to worsen and become so bad that it can lead to vomiting.
The duration of an outbreak depends on local circumstances and public health response, according to Dr. Paul Van Buynder, Fraser Health's chief medical officer.
In Australia, a whooping cough outbreak is in its second year, a pattern seen also in California, Washington State and Saskatchewan.
Whooping cough generally demonstrates cyclical peaks every three to five years, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. British Columbia has not experienced a significant provincial peak since 2003, and, in general, rates have since dropped to their lowest levels in approximately 20 years.
In 2000, there were 1,549 cases of whooping cough reported in B.C. and in 2003, there were 895 cases reported. In 2003, cases were concentrated on Vancouver Island and the North Shore, although there were more than 100 cases in Metro Vancouver (Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Tri-Cities, etc.).
In 2000, the outbreak was more widespread, with Vancouver Island and the Interior (ThompsonOkanagan) reporting many cases, with several hundred reported in Metro Vancouver communities.
A list of immunizing pharmacies can be found at www.fraserhealth.ca/ whoopingcough. Contact your local health unit to check a child's immunization records or to make an appointment for childhood immunizations.
