Though Freeborn County physicians have not seen whooping cough outbreaks as high as some other counties across the state, they have seen three or four confirmed cases of the disease and have treated 40 or 50 people who might have come in contact with those affected individuals, said Michael D. Ulrich, a family practice physician at Albert Lea Medical Center.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health, whooping cough, officially named pertussis, is a disease that affects the lungs. It is spread from person to person through the air.

Ulrich said whooping cough starts off like a cold with sneezing, a runny nose, a cough and possibly a low-grade fever. But then it develops into something more.

A cold will typically get better after a week, but with whooping cough the cough gets worse, he said.

People who have it will develop a very distinctive cough, he said. They will have bouts of coughs, in which it is common for them to vomit. True whooping cough can go on for a couple months.

People of any age can get the disease, though teenagers and adults account for more than half of reported cases, according to the state Department of Health. If infants get pertussis, it is often severe, and they will be more likely to develop complications.

– Vaccinate all children on time. This is the best way to prevent pertussis.

– Avoid close contact with others who are coughing or otherwise ill.

– Wash hands often.

– Stay at home if ill.

– Cover a cough with a tissue or cough into a sleeve.

– Seek medical attention if pertussis-like symptoms develop or if exposed to someone with pertussis.

If someone develops the symptoms of whooping cough, that person is contagious to those they come into close contact with. For example if someone goes on a car ride with a person who has pertussis, that person could be susceptible to the disease, Ulrich said.

Generally, a person is at greater risk of getting the disease if they are within three feet of someone with pertussis for at least 10 hours a week, according to the Minnesota Department of Health. The period between exposure to the bacteria and onset of illness is usually seven to 10 days but may be as long as 21 days.

To determine if someone has the disease, a nasal swab test is performed, Ulrich said. If that test comes back positive, doctors treat that person, along with the contacts of that person. Antibiotics can be given as a precaution to the contacts to prevent whooping cough from developing.

Ulrich said it was not uncommon to treat the 40 or 50 contacts they have this year to prevent the spread. On one hand while doctors don’t want to over-treat people, they have to weigh that with the alternative of how it would be if the people went untreated and possibly could have developed the disease.

In addition to the three or four confirmed cases in Freeborn County this year, there have probably been another three to four cases that are presumed, Ulrich said. These people have had close contact with those who doctors have confirmed to have the disease and who have experienced the same symptoms.

The doctor said whooping cough is a disease that appears periodically. It’s something doctors see in various areas, and outbreaks can be associated in areas where vaccinations have dropped. Usually, it’s something he doesn’t see often.

– First symptoms of pertussis are similar to a cold, including symptoms such as sneezing, a runny nose, a low-grade fever and a cough. After one or two weeks, the cough becomes severe.

– The cough occurs in sudden uncontrollable bursts where one cough follows the next without a break for breath.

– Many children will make a high-pitched whooping sound when breathing in after a coughing episode. Whooping is less common in infants and adults.

– During a coughing spell the person may vomit.

– The person’s face or lips may look blue from lack of oxygen.

– The cough is often worse at night.

– Between coughing spells, the person seems well, but the illness is exhausting over time.

– Coughing episodes gradually become less frequent, but may continue for several weeks or months until the lungs heal.

— Information from the Minnesota Department of Health

“If you have a pool of parents who don’t want to vaccinate their kids, it can flare up,” he said.

The fact that Freeborn County has had three or four cases is “a little atypical,” Ulrich added. But he thinks the county is over the curve. Doctors have been treating the people who have had it, and they’re not seeing it come up as much.

Albert Lea Area Schools nurse Carol Bosma said she doesn’t consider the three or four whooping cough cases in the entire county to be an outbreak.

The disease can be prevented through the pertussis booster vaccine (Tdap) for adolescents.

A Minnesota Department of Health advisory stated that pertussis outbreaks have been occurring in several Minnesota communities, including Dakota, Douglas, Otter Tail and Wright counties. Outbreaks in Dakota and Douglas counties each include between 15 and 25 confirmed cases, according to the advisory.