The most recent cases in Clark County have been reported from area schools. Springfield City Schools, Northeastern Local Schools and Southeastern Local Schools have each reported one case of whooping cough among their students, according to county Combined Health District officials.
Nationally, “we’re seeing this increase in the disease in 9-year-olds, 10-year-olds,” said Carolyn Gillam, infectious disease nurse for the health district. “By the time they reach early adolescence, the vaccine is not carrying through.”
Clark County’s numbers so far do not amount to an outbreak. The county had 23 cases in 2009 and 19 in 2010, said Christina Conover, the health district’s director of nursing.
But statewide there is a concern. In 2010, Ohio saw more than 3,000 cases of pertussis, compared with about 2,200 in 2009, according to the Ohio Disease Reporting Surveillance System.
Nationally, more than 16,800 cases, and 12 infant deaths, were reported in 2009, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In response to the increase, Tdap — a booster shot that prevents pertussis, diptheria and tetanus — was licensed in 2005, Conover said. It was made mandatory for children 11 to 12 years of age in 2010.
The fact that whooping cough has much milder symptoms than it has in the past, especially in adults, presents another challenge.
“In some cases it’s going unidentified,” Gillam said. “People don’t know it’s pertussis, they think it’s a passing cold and may not go to the doctor.”
And then adults, who may be able to handle the symptoms, spread the illness to children who are more susceptible, Gillam said.
“With the cases in school, at least one of them was brought home by an adult,” Gillam said.
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