HoustonChronicle.com

Section: Health & Medicine
Section: Local & State
Section: Page 1
 

Current stories in Health & Medicine:
 

• Mexican-Americans take part in genetic research study
  • Sun may have anticancer benefits
  • Whooping cough puts state on alert
• August 29, 2002:
  • Study gauging global child smoking rates
  • Chimps may have survived AIDS 2 million years ago
  • Mental health of soldiers in Afghanistan screened
  • Theory of link between adult health and fetus nutrition scrutinized
  • Teens easily get hooked on tobacco
• August 28, 2002:
  • Study links stress management, diabetes improvement
  • Ohio's high court overrules health board's smoking ban
  • German magazine sees cancer risk in coffee
  • Insulin resistance syndrome affects a third of U.S.
  • Arsenic in wood is risky for years, group says
  • Study touts vitamin regimen for angioplasty patients
  • Women seek options other than a hysterectomy for treating uterine tumors
• August 27, 2002:
  • Cell study disputes 'bone to brain' changeover
  • Caffeine on skin lowers risk of cancer in mice
  • Hospitals make extra efforts to comfort patients
  • Of Note
• August 25, 2002:
  • New Internet site lists 117 nutrient categories for many foods
• August 24, 2002:
  • Watchdog heaps unexpected praise on fast-food restaurants
  • West Nile suspected in two deaths
• August 22, 2002:
  • Bush runs away from his stress
  • Science ties arrhythmia heart risk to gene variant
  • Low-weight babies rise in suburbs
  • Cloned piglets raise hopes of those awaiting transplants
  • Study links carbohydrates to rheumatoid arthritis
• Trial of West Nile drug OK'd
  • New AIDS drug raises hopes, but cost may be high
• August 20, 2002:
  • Judge orders Paxil's maker to yank commercials
  • Biotech food likely safe, panel finds
  • Analysis downplays genes' role in breast cancer risk
  • Study on mice links West Nile to gene
  • Study questions usefulness of ginkgo
  • 'Embryo adoption' receives federal grants
• August 19, 2002:
  • Houston woman's death may be Texas' first West Nile fatality
  • Elderly patients' mobility a priority at UTMB unit
  • It's true: Alcohol makes others better looking
  • Agency has tips for seeking health care
  • Light therapy approved for a type of acne
  • Tissue bank scrutinized by SEC
  • Water, water everywhere, but how much do we need?
  • Identifying triggers can help migraine sufferers
  • Of note

   

Aug. 31, 2002, 9:38AM

Whooping cough puts state on alert

Number of cases threatens to set record

By LEIGH HOPPER
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Medical Writer

Whooping cough, an infectious disease potentially fatal to babies, is continuing a statewide surge that threatens to surpass the worst year on record.

The situation concerns state health officials enough to issue an alert this week to parents and doctors to be on watch for the telltale sign of the disease -- a rapid series of coughs followed by a "whoop" as a person gasps for air.

In six weeks the number of cases in Texas has nearly doubled to 725, including four infant deaths, according to the state health department. The total is coming close to the record set in 1968, when officials recorded 802 cases.

In Houston there have been 46 cases this year, 34 in children age one year or younger. Health officials are urging parents to keep adults and adolescents with symptoms away from babies.

"Older folks can clear it, but they transmit it to unprotected infants, and their lungs can't expel the mucus," said Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for Houston Department of Health and Human Services.

Whooping cough, also called pertussis, is a highly contagious bacterial respiratory illness spread through coughing and sneezing. The illness, which can be successfully treated with antibiotics, is most likely to spread in household situations and classrooms.

Whooping cough can cause pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death in infants. It is a vaccine-preventable disease, but the vaccine's effectiveness diminishes 10 years after the last dose, leaving older children, teenagers and adults exposed. Those groups usually have milder cases of whooping cough, but can transmit the illness to babies who aren't yet protected by the vaccine.

When an infant is hospitalized with pertussis, disease investigators often find the baby has contracted the disease from an older sibling or adult living in the home.

Complete vaccination against pertussis includes four shots, plus a booster, using DTaP, a combination vaccine that also protects against diptheria and tetanus. The first dose is given at 6 weeks to 2 months, followed by doses at 4 months, 6 months, 15 to 18 months, and a booster at age 4.

Whooping cough has three stages. The first is marked by a runny nose, sneezing, low-grade fever and a mild cough, and usually lasts for one to two weeks.

Stage two lasts one to six weeks, and is characterized by prolonged spasms of coughing followed by a high-pitched gasp for air. In the third stage the coughing spells occur less frequently, but coughing spasms can recur for several months. Last year, 615 cases of whooping cough, including five deaths (none in Harris County), were reported in 70 Texas counties.