PORT ANGELES — At least 34 pertussis cases have occurred on the North Olympic Peninsula since January, part of a statewide epidemic that had affected 2,520 as of June 16.
Jefferson County had 22 confirmed cases of pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough, according to the latest situation report from the state Department of Health.
Clallam County had 12 confirmed cases of the highly contagious bacterial disease that produces severe coughing and can lead to severe complications in infants.
“We, of course, still are very much in an epidemic phase,” said Dr. Tom Locke, public health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties, in Tuesday’s Clallam County Board of Health meeting.
The good news is the outbreak appears to be slowing down.
There were 50 new cases in Washington the week ending June 16 compared with 249 new cases the week ending May 19.
“Some of this may be real in that some of the pertussis activity may be abating,” Locke said.
“I think, though, it’s equally likely that people are just doing less testing and relying more on symptoms and exposure risk because the testing necessary to confirm cases is expensive to do.”
15 known cases in Clallam
Clallam County Health and Human Services Director Iva Burks said there are 15 known cases in Clallam County, three more than the state tally.
“The vast majority of those have been actually in the Sequim area, but now we are seeing cases in Port Angeles,” Burks told the health board.
“As of last Friday, I don’t think we had any identified in Forks.”
There have been eight pertussis cases confirmed on the Peninsula since early May. All but one occurred in Clallam County.
To qualify as a pertussis case, coughing symptoms must persist for at least two weeks.
“We don’t like to wait,” Locke said.
“If we know someone is exposed and they’re getting pertussis, we want to treat them as soon as possible. You don’t want to wait two weeks so that you can count them in your report.”
Of the 2,520 known cases in Washington, 148 have afflicted infants younger than 1.
“Of those, 32 have been hospitalized,” Locke said.
“And of the hospitalized, nearly three-quarters are under the age of 3 months. That’s really what these control efforts are all about: to protect that very vulnerable group.
“The younger you are, the more deadly pertussis is,” he added.
Immunizations
Health officials say the best way to protect infants who are too young to be to be fully immunized is to immunize older children and adults around them.
Because the adult booster for pertussis — called Tdap for tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis — has been available only since 2005, fewer than 1 in 10 adults has gotten the shot.
The Clallam County Health Department offered free Tdap vaccinations May 18 for people with no medical insurance or insurance that does not cover vaccinations in Port Angeles and Forks.
Vaccinations also were provided to Medicare patients who would have had to shell out $200 for a shot.
“We gave, between the two places, 166 shots in a three-hour period, which I think was pretty good,” Burks said.
“We had some pregnant females that came in if they were in their last trimester . . . We had a lot of new fathers that came that had babies under 6 months old, which we were glad to see.
“And we had a lot of grandparents that came and said, ‘They said if I didn’t come get my shot, I couldn’t see that baby.’
“So they came because they wanted to see the baby as well as health care for the baby.”
The state provided Clallam County with 300 doses of the booster. There are more than 50 remaining does, which likely will be used in another free clinic in Forks, Burks said.
For more details on pertussis, visit the state Health’s website, www.doh.wa.gov.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
