Whooping Cough-Pertussis - ARE YOU UP ON YOUR IMMUNIZATIONS

• LAST WEEK A SWIMMER FROM GRANTSVILLE HAD THE WHOOPING COUGH 

• SCHOOL REQUIRED TO INFORM ALL STUDENTS EXPOSED TO PERTUSSIS

• Pertussis (whooping cough) spreads very easily through coughing and sneezing. It can cause a bad cough that makes someone gasp for air after coughing fits. This cough can last for many weeks, which can make preteens and teens miss school and other activities. Whooping cough can be deadly for babies who are too young to have protection from their own vaccines. Often babies get whooping cough from their older brothers or sisters, like preteens or teens, or other people in the family.

• Babies and little kids get shots called DTaP to protect them from diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough). But as kids get older, the protection from the DTaP shots starts to wear off. This can put your preteen or teen at risk for serious illness. The tetanus-diphtheria-acelluar pertussis (Tdap) vaccine is a booster shot that helps protect your preteen or teen from the same diseases that DTaP shots protect little kids from.