Whooping cough cases have health department concerned in Fond du Lac County

The Fond du Lac County Health Department says its looking into an outbreak of Whooping cough in the county. According to a press release issued yesterday, 15 cases have been reported so far.

The health department says they are closely monitoring those infected to insure they are getting treated with the proper antibiotics and doing what they should to minimize spread to others.

Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can be transmitted by coughing, sneezing or other close contact experiences with an infected person.
Early symptoms can look similar to the common cold but if left untreated, will grow to a violent cough that can leave the infected person short of breath.

Whooping cough can affect people of all ages However, it can be very serious for pregnant women, those that are immunocompromised, and babies less than 1 year old.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination is the best way to prevent whooping cough, but can be treated with antibiotics if infected.

The CDC says they are seeing cases nationwide three times more than this time last year. If you think you may be infected, you should see your primary health care provider.