Upstate New York County Warns of Widespread Infection in Children

Officials with an Upstate New York County are warning residents of a sharp increase in cases of a certain bacterial infection in children. Precautions need to be taken as these cold weather months usually lead to a wide variety of illnesses.

Madison County officials announced this week that they are seeing an increased number of pertussis cases, also known as "whooping cough," in school-aged children. This is an illness that many parents are all too familiar with. Pertussis is a bacterial respiratory infection that spreads easily to others when individuals with this infection cough or sneeze.

Madison County Public Health Director Rebecca Laporte says,

Whooping cough can be very serious for infants too young to be vaccinated. This is why we are alerting both medical providers and the public that this illness is spreading in our community.

Laporte says unvaccinated victims of this infection are extremely vulnerable to serious disease including pauses in breathing, pneumonia, convulsions, disease affecting the brain, or even death. This alert is not meant to scare, but to only make parents aware of the risk and dangers of inactivity.

It is recommended that anyone who experiences symptoms of "whooping cough" to stay home and parents of children with symptoms are especially encouraged to keep them out of school, to reduce the risk of spread. There is an antibiotic to help fight this infection and isolation is recommended until the full course of the treatment is complete.

Madison County Public Health are offering the following tips to keep healthy going into cold, flu and other illnesses season.

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
• Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands, if you don’t have a tissue.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Use an alcohol-based hand rub if soap and water are not available.

Madison County health officials say routine vaccination against pertussis is recommended for all children and adults to prevent or lessen the severity of disease.