This time of year, it’s not unusual for children to come home from school with a cough or cold.
But in flu season, and with an outbreak of whooping cough in New Brunswick and even some cases in Nova Scotia, some parents are wondering how they can tell whether the cough is something they should be worried about.
“It’s very difficult in the first few days to really identify if you do have whooping cough,” explains Mariette LeBlanc, Public Health nurse and communicable disease coordinator.
Public Health is continuing to vaccinate children in grade seven.
“We also had a memo sent to all parents with children in kindergarten to grade 12,” adds Monique Brossard, N.B. Public Health immunization coordinator.
So far, there are 47 confirmed cases of the disease in southeastern New Brunswick; most are in the greater Moncton area.
“There is much more activity that is likely occurring,” explained Dr. Yves Leger, N.B. Medical Officer of Health, on Thursday. “And, transmission within the community, than the small number that we’ve seen.”
That’s due in part to the fact that not everyone with the disease will have the characteristic cough.
Still, experts say it’s distinctive.
“I had a child, years and years ago had that pertussis and it was very, very scary,” says pharmacist Peter Ford. “As a parent, even as a pharmacist, because there’s nothing that will suppress the cough.”
Anyone with a cough that lasts more than a week should see a doctor.
The good news is that unlike the common cold, whooping cough is treatable with a course of antibiotics.
“You’re contagious for the first five days that you’re on your antibiotics,” explains LeBlanc. “So you shouldn’t go anywhere near children under the age of one, or pregnant women in their last trimester.”
Frequent hand washing and good hygiene can help prevent the spread of the disease.
The number of cases this month appears to be levelling off.
Public Health officials say they hope that means the outbreak has peaked and is nearing its end.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie.
