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Charlotte, NC – The Mecklenburg County Health Department Communicable Disease Control Program is investigating one confirmed and a number of suspect cases of pertussis in a Charlotte-Mecklenburg School environment.
The confirmed case is a small child who attends the Metro School in uptown Charlotte. The Health Department is recommending that approximately 250 exposed contacts there take antibiotics as a form of prophylaxis against pertussis, regardless of age or vaccination status.
Whooping cough -- known medically as pertussis -- is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection. Although it initially resembles an ordinary cold, whooping cough may eventually turn more serious, particularly in infants. It is most contagious before the coughing starts.
An "exposed contact" is defined as a person who spent at least one hour within 3 feet of the infected individual. To limit the spread of the disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends treating close contacts or exposed persons with a course of antibiotics.
The best way to prevent pertussis is through vaccinations. The childhood vaccine is called DTaP. The whooping cough booster vaccine for adolescents and adults is called Tdap. Both protect against whooping cough, tetanus and diphtheria.
Starting this year, Tdap is required for all sixth-grade students to be enrolled in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
The health department recommends that those with private health insurance see their physician for the antibiotic regiment. For those without insurance, the health department is working to ensure they have access to the medications.
Dr. Stephen Keener, medical director, has sent notices to healthcare providers and emergency departments across the county asking doctors and healthcare workers to be aware of these developments, look to test for pertussis, treat the patient and their contacts, and report any cases to the health department.
For more information about pertussis and the Tdap vaccine, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/pertussis.
