Whooping Cough In Region

There have been 73 reported cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, reported this year by North Dakota Health and Human Services.  That compares to all of 2023, when 17 cases were reported in North Dakota.  R&J News asked Sarah Kjono, public health director for Norman Mahnomen Public Health, if that trend is spreading in northwest Minnesota.

Kjono says while whooping cough is mostly found in young children, other children and adults can get the disease, too.

Children should be vaccinated for whooping cough….and adults can get a T-Dap vaccine, which covers tetanus and whooping cough.  The T-Dap vaccine lasts in your system for ten years.