It seems whooping cough is making a comeback right across the country. Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick are all showing a sharp increase in reported cases.
Not a single week has gone by in New Brunswick this year without a new case of whooping cough being reported. To date, there have been 1,057 cases – 37 in the last week alone.
In a typical year, the province only sees a few cases, if any at all.
The increase across the country has the government ramping up its fight against the highly contagious, sometimes fatal disease.
Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq says the disease is preventable and encourages parents to have their children vaccinated; however in New Brunswick, vaccinated children between the ages of 10 and 14 are where most of the whooping cough cases are being found.
“We do believe it's in part because their previous boosters that they had are starting to wear off a little bit and they haven’t quite gotten to the point where they're due for their next one,” N.B. Medical Officer of Health Dr. Cristin Muecke tells CTV News.
The province held in school vaccinations for grade six, seven and eight students last spring throughout Moncton and Saint John schools, but with the number of cases continuing to rise, the province plans to expand the vaccination campaign to the rest of the province this fall.
“It was six, seven and eight in the spring, but it's the same cohort so when they start school in the fall it will be grade seven, eight and nine targeted for receiving it in schools,” says Dr. Muecke.
Post-secondary institutions are also a focus. People in their late teens and early twenties should check their vaccination records to ensure they have had a booster shot.
“They might be sleeping different hours, they might be sleeping in close quarters with others. So I think there are a lot of educational campaigns that go on throughout the residence system, through electronic communications with students, to let them know how to stay healthy,” says Greg Carriere of the University of New Brunswick.
Nova Scotia has had just a few reported cases, while Prince Edward Island hasn’t had any.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore
