New Brunswick whooping cough outbreak grows to 36

A whooping cough outbreak in northeastern New Brunswick continues to grow.

As of Wednesday, Public Health says an outbreak in Health Zone 6 (which includes the Acadian Peninsula and Bathurst) has grown to 36 cases since mid-June.

Earlier this month, the province reported 19 confirmed cases in Zone 6.

On June 27, when the outbreak was declared, 11 confirmed cases had been reported within a two-week period.

Typically, the area has no more than four whooping cough cases within an entire year.

Public health says 48 cases of whooping cough have been reported across New Brunswick so far this year, with a provincial incidence rate of 5.8 cases per 100,000 population. The average rate for that same time period in the previous five years was 4.2 cases per 100,000 population.

A rise in whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has been reported this year, including in Newfoundland, Nunavut, Ontario and Quebec.

In May, parents and guardians of New Brunswick schoolchildren received a memo advising them of rising whooping cough cases around the world.

The memo encouraged vaccinations, which can help to prevent pertussis or result in a milder case.

Infants cannot be fully immunized against whooping cough, and face more severe risks from an infection.

“By immunizing parents, siblings and other close contacts of babies and young children, the very young can be surrounded or ‘cocooned’ by those who are immunized,” says a statement from Public Health on Wednesday.

Early whooping cough symptoms are similar to the common cold before worsening over several weeks to serious coughing spells. The respiratory tract infection is usually treated with antibiotics.

Pertussis is transmitted from an infected person through nose, mouth, and throat droplets.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.