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Whooping cough hits infant in Hyde County
Several other ‘probable cases’ in Grassy Ridge
By NIKIE MAYO, Staff Writer
There is at least one confirmed case of whooping cough in the Grassy Ridge community of western Hyde County — that of a 6-week-old girl — and the health department is investigating at least 10 other “probable cases” in the same area.
The North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed the case late Wednesday afternoon, said Margie Keech, a communicable-diseases nurse at the Hyde County Health Department. The infant is being treated in the pediatric intensive-care unit at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, according to a health department spokeswoman. No information about the baby’s condition was available and her name was not released.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, begins with symptoms similar to a common cold, such as a runny nose. As it progresses, it is characterized by repeated, lengthy coughing fits, particularly at night. The coughs end in a forced breath — creating a high-pitched “whoop” sound, according to a release from the health department.
The disease is highly contagious and can spread through the air from a sick person during talking, sneezing or coughing. The disease most often affects children and is especially dangerous — and sometimes deadly — for children who are less than 1 year old, according to the release.
Nasal swabs from the baby confirmed that she had the communicable disease, but results from cultures tests are not yet available. Three other people in the community were tested for whooping cough Wednesday, Keech said, and there between 10 and 20 probable cases in Grassy Ridge.
Keech said workers from the health department went to the school there and reviewed immunization records. She did not give the name of the school, but the only one in the Grassy Ridge community is the Hope Mennonite School.
Pitt County Memorial Hospital first notified the Beaufort County Health Department about the baby’s condition, because the family’s postal address is either a Belhaven or Pantego one, as in the case with the communities on the westernmost communities of Hyde County. The Hyde County Health Department was notified thereafter.
“We are aware that Hyde County is investigating,” said Carol Kinnion, the nursing supervisor at the Beaufort County Health Department. “Initially, we were thinking it was our case because of address information we received. We notified local physicians.”
Kinnion said there were no confirmed or suspected whooping-cough cases in Beaufort County. Barbara Owens, the nursing director for the Martin-Tyrrell-Washington Health District, said there weren’t any cases in her three-county area, either.
In each of the Hyde County cases, both confirmed and suspected, the people have not received all of the necessary doses of the dyphtheria-tetanus and-pertussis — or DTaP — vaccination. The vaccination is administered as a series of four or five shots, most given before the child is 1 year old, and the last one being given before he or she starts school. The vaccination is mandatory, unless a person is allergic to it or the family has a religious objection to it.
“The health department is investigating the cases and their contacts,” Keech said. But we are urging parents to check their children’s shot records and make sure they are up-to-date. This disease is preventable.”
By NIKIE MAYO, Staff Writer
There is at least one confirmed case of whooping cough in the Grassy Ridge community of western Hyde County — that of a 6-week-old girl — and the health department is investigating at least 10 other “probable cases” in the same area.
The North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed the case late Wednesday afternoon, said Margie Keech, a communicable-diseases nurse at the Hyde County Health Department. The infant is being treated in the pediatric intensive-care unit at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, according to a health department spokeswoman. No information about the baby’s condition was available and her name was not released.
Whooping cough, or pertussis, begins with symptoms similar to a common cold, such as a runny nose. As it progresses, it is characterized by repeated, lengthy coughing fits, particularly at night. The coughs end in a forced breath — creating a high-pitched “whoop” sound, according to a release from the health department.
The disease is highly contagious and can spread through the air from a sick person during talking, sneezing or coughing. The disease most often affects children and is especially dangerous — and sometimes deadly — for children who are less than 1 year old, according to the release.
Nasal swabs from the baby confirmed that she had the communicable disease, but results from cultures tests are not yet available. Three other people in the community were tested for whooping cough Wednesday, Keech said, and there between 10 and 20 probable cases in Grassy Ridge.
Keech said workers from the health department went to the school there and reviewed immunization records. She did not give the name of the school, but the only one in the Grassy Ridge community is the Hope Mennonite School.
Pitt County Memorial Hospital first notified the Beaufort County Health Department about the baby’s condition, because the family’s postal address is either a Belhaven or Pantego one, as in the case with the communities on the westernmost communities of Hyde County. The Hyde County Health Department was notified thereafter.
“We are aware that Hyde County is investigating,” said Carol Kinnion, the nursing supervisor at the Beaufort County Health Department. “Initially, we were thinking it was our case because of address information we received. We notified local physicians.”
Kinnion said there were no confirmed or suspected whooping-cough cases in Beaufort County. Barbara Owens, the nursing director for the Martin-Tyrrell-Washington Health District, said there weren’t any cases in her three-county area, either.
In each of the Hyde County cases, both confirmed and suspected, the people have not received all of the necessary doses of the dyphtheria-tetanus and-pertussis — or DTaP — vaccination. The vaccination is administered as a series of four or five shots, most given before the child is 1 year old, and the last one being given before he or she starts school. The vaccination is mandatory, unless a person is allergic to it or the family has a religious objection to it.
“The health department is investigating the cases and their contacts,” Keech said. But we are urging parents to check their children’s shot records and make sure they are up-to-date. This disease is preventable.”
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