GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — North Carolina has seen a dramatic increase in the number of whooping cough cases over the past three months.
Between January and March, 106 cases have been identified, compared to the 40 cases within the same time frame last year.
Regardless of age, whooping cough can be a serious risk for all. The way to address whooping cough is with vaccinations and antibiotics.
“Whooping cough is a lot more common than people realize. It is one of the things we immunize against and actually, it’s very useful, especially for little babies and those are the ones we really worry about as far as Pitt County,” ECU Health Pediatric Infectious Diseases Dr. Alex Dalzell said. “It will come and go and so, I know right now, they’ve got some issues over in Western Carolina. I’ve not heard about anything here in town yet, but it would not surprise me because we get about one or two or three times a year. We actually get some cases.”
Dr. Dalzell said whooping cough can last for up to two to three months and can be fatal to infants.
