RCRMC Aims to Curtail the Spread of Whooping Cough

Physicians and infectious disease experts at Riverside County Regional Medical Center are urging the family members and caregivers of infants and elderly seniors to make sure their own Pertussis vaccinations are up to date. Pertussis, often called whooping cough for the characteristic high-pitched whoop a sufferer makes while gasping for air, is an acute and highly contagious bacterial respiratory infection that is making a comeback in the United States after decades of decline, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Immunity from vaccination is not lifelong. “The people who often transmit the disease are healthy adolescents and adults,” said Dr. Aleca Clark, Chief of Pediatrics at RCRMC. The Moreno Valley-based hospital offers a free outpatient Pertussis vaccination to children up to age 18 who do not have private insurance (Medi-Cal is OK), and to adult family members of newborns. The clinic is open to Riverside County residents at its Family Medicine Clinic in Moreno Valley on the first and third Saturday of each month. Clark said the vaccination clinic primarily serves those who don’t have access to a primary physician. Clark said Pertussis at first can appear as a common cold with runny nose, fever and cough. Infants cannot be vaccinated until they are at least two months old, and are at especially high risk if they are exposed. The CDC reports that 40 percent of those diagnosed with whooping cough end up hospitalized. That’s why Clark said she routinely discusses the importance of Pertussis vaccination with the families of newborns. “Dads, grandmas, everyone,” Clark said. “Many people would not even know they have Pertussis,” Clark said. “Meanwhile, they may have transmitted a deadly infection. In very little time, a small child can just stop breathing. It can strike before a family is even aware.” Davalyn Tidwell, a pharmacist who oversees the vaccination campaign at RCRMC, said the increase in Pertussis is at least partly attributed to families’ recent fear and refusal of vaccinations. The vaccination clinics see between 30 and 40 adolescents a day during the summer months prior to the new school year, she said. Tidwell said the series of vaccinations for Pertussis begin at two months and continue throughout early childhood and again during adolescence and adulthood. “We constantly promote the Pertussis vaccination,” Tidwell said. “During prenatal examinations we always are telling our patients, ‘don’t forget about your family.’”