Texas Whooping Cough Outbreak Close to Epidemic

A Texas whooping cough outbreak warning has been issued by state health officials in an effort to quell what some consider to be the worst outbreak of pertussis in 50 years.

Whooping cough has be linked to two deaths so far in the state and health officials are advising residents to bring their vaccinations up to date and to make sure their children have been vaccinated as well.

"This is extremely concerning," Dr. Lisa Cornelius, the state's infectious diseases medical officer, said in a statement. "If cases continue to be diagnosed at the current rate, we will see the most Texas cases since the 1950s. Pertussis is highly infectious and can cause serious complications, especially in babies, so people should take it seriously."

1,935 people had been diagnosed with whooping cough in Texas as of Aug. 27, nearly a quarter of those in Fort Worth's Tarrant County, state health officials told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that 27,550 cases were reported in 2010, the most since 1959 when there were about 40,000 cases. The CDC said the challenge for doctors and patients is diagnosing the symptoms which can resemble a bad cold and can go unreported for a long period.

The whooping cough, known as the "100-day cough" in China, can last up to five months and infants under two months of age are at the highest risk, Dr. Melanie Mouzoon, a pediatrician at the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, told The Houston Chronicle.

Both of the state's whooping cough deaths have been infants less than two months old, according to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

A state health department news release said infants can come down with pneumonia, suffer convulsions, slowed breathing and even brain disease, with stats revealing that one in every 100 infants who becomes infected will die.  CP