JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Two recent confirmed and treated cases of pertussis at the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Medical Clinic have prompted 359th Aerospace-Medicine Squadron Public Health Flight officials to raise awareness of the disease and to encourage people to immediately seek medical help if they have been exposed to it or exhibit the symptoms.
The cases, which occurred in April, involved elementary school students in the Judson and Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School Districts who are Department of Defense beneficiaries.
"There is no cause for alarm, but due to the progressive spread of infection, awareness has to be increased to local and neighboring schools and districts," Senior Airman Shannon Anderson, 359th AMDS Community Health Element preventive medicine technician, said. "Our public health flight's primary objective is to break the chain of infection. We will continue to closely monitor this situation and keep Joint Base San Antonio members informed."
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection seen in all age groups, but is most dangerous for children under 1 year old, especially infants less than 6 months old, he said. It may begin with cold-like symptoms such as runny nose, low-grade fever and a mild, occasional cough that gradually becomes more severe and may last for several weeks or even months. In some cases, deep breaths result in a "whooping" sound.
Maj. William Lujan, 359th AMDS Public Health Flight commander, said the 359th Medical Group worked with the Texas Department of State Health Services, Region 8 on the confirmed cases at the clinic.
"We work together on cases like these," he said. "We make sure all household contacts are treated because pertussis is very contagious."
Pertussis is spread from person to person, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People with the infection spread it by coughing or sneezing while in close contact with others, who breathe in the pertussis bacteria.
"Anyone with a cough illness lasting two weeks or longer and/or anyone who has attacks of coughing should be evaluated for pertussis and should avoid close contact with others until evaluated by a health care provider," Anderson said.
Capt. Michael Scannon, 359th AMDS Public Health Flight deputy commander, said medical facilities must follow a certain protocol for pertussis patients.
"When people talk to their medical provider, they should make it clear they or their children are potential pertussis cases," he said. "We have to make sure it's not spread to other patients."
It's also important that potential pertussis patients call ahead of time before visiting the clinic, Lujan said.
"The last thing you want is for them to sit in the waiting room," he said. "We'd rather they call ahead if they believe they have pertussis. We'll make arrangements for them to meet us in the back of the facility, provide them with a breathing mask and take them to a less populated part of the clinic."
Vaccines are the best defense against pertussis, Lujan said.
"It's not 100 percent, but it will make symptoms less serious in most cases," he said.
The recommended vaccine for children, called DTaP, protects them against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis and is administered five times before the age of 7 for maximum protection, Anderson said. A booster vaccine, called Tdap, is recommended at 11 or 12 years old and at 19 years of age and older for those who didn't get the Tdap vaccine as a preteen.
Treatment of pertussis involves a five-day course of antibiotics, he said. Patients on antibiotics should stay home and avoid contact with all persons outside of the household for those five days.
According to the CDC, more than 27,000 pertussis cases were reported in the U.S. in 2010, the most since 1959, when 40,000 cases were reported. Worldwide, there are an estimated 30-50 million cases and about 300,000 deaths per year.
The incidence of pertussis varies from year to year, but tends to peak every five years, Lujan said.
For more information, call Anderson at 652-1876.