Pertussis Outbreak Prompts Warning

Health officials advised people displaying cold symptoms to stay home, just in case those symptoms are actually due to pertussis - commonly called whooping cough.

The recent pertussis outbreak was discovered last week after the death of a 2-month-old Post Falls boy March 28. The child was just days away from an appointment to get immunized against pertussis.

An autopsy showed pertussis in the infant’s system.

In the past week, the Panhandle Health District has been tracking down everyone who had contact with the child. Of those, five children and two adults were confirmed also to have pertussis.

Health district nursing supervisor Marie Rau said immunization is crucial to prevention. Although immunization is not always 100 percent effective, it will lessen the severity of the illness, she said.

, DataTimes