Tuesday, October 9, 2001

Whooping cough cases increase in Texas; no reports at TCU
By Aaron Chimbel
Staff Reporter

Cases of whooping cough have dramatically increased in the Rio Grande Valley this year, with 42 confirmed cases compared to 24 in all of 2000, according to Texas Department of Health statistics. Statewide there have been 285 cases reported since January with 10 of those in Fort Worth.

Pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, can attack people of any age with violent coughing spells leading to a loud whooping sound when they try to inhale, said Tarrant County Public Health Authority Alex Hathaway.

Hathaway said the disease is easily prevented as part of the immunizations most children receive in the United States. Most college students should be fine, he added.

Whooping cough is a bacterial disease spread through the air and is most common in infants. Outbreaks have also occurred in nursing homes. The disease can be fatal if not treated with antibiotics.

Hathaway said there the threat of whopping cough is minimal in the Fort Worth area.

TCU Health Center doctor Burton Schwartz said he has not seen any cases of whooping cough at TCU.

Hathaway said whooping cough has been more frequent in adolescents and young adults in the last several years than in the 1980s.

The Center for Disease Control reported 7,000 cases of whooping cough last year.

The CDC also reported that the number could be as much as 10 times that because teens and young adults often go undiagnosed.

There were only about 1,000 cases a year of whooping cough in the 1980s. Prior to vaccinations becoming available in the 1940s about 250,000 Americans got the disease annually, according to the CDC.

People who were immunized sometimes get a mild case of the disease and may need a booster, especially those in their 50s or 60s, she said. Hathaway said any doctor can give the immunization.

Aaron Chimbel
a.a.chimbel@student.tcu.edu