Pertussis Case Confirmed

Wake County Community Health Director Gibbie Harris confirmed today a single case of pertussis, or whooping cough, in Wake County. Officials with Wake County Human Services are working with local healthcare providers to provide the needed prophylaxis or treatment for anyone who is believed to have come in contact with the infected individual.

The affected group has been identified and is being contacted to seek the appropriate antibiotics as recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We want to reassure the public that the necessary precautions are being taken to notify and treat anyone we feel may have come in contact with the person who has this communicable disease," Harris said. "Through working with the state and the local medical community, we believe this is an isolated incident. Still, we are encouraging healthcare providers to be aware of the warning signs of pertussis/whooping cough."

Pertussis is a very contagious disease that is spread by tiny droplets that are coughed or sneezed from a symptomatic infected person. A person could become infected by breathing in the droplets or by transferring them to the nose or throat on their hands or exposure to items freshly soiled by respiratory droplets. Symptoms of pertussis usually appear 7 to 10 days after exposure.

Symptoms of pertussis in the early stages are much like a common cold—runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever and a cough. The cough gradually gets worse. Pertussis is treated with antibiotics. The best prevention against pertussis is vaccination that is given beginning at 2 months of age.