HARDIN COUNTY, Texas — Hardin County health officials have confirmed that there is an outbreak of whooping cough in the county. That means there are three or more confirmed cases of the illness from different households.
Whooping cough is extremely contagious. So far, there has been cases at Lumberton and Silsbee ISD along with West Hardin CISD.
Here's the number of confirmed cases of each district:
- Lumberton ISD- Three confirmed cases and one probable at Lumberton High School. Lumberton's middle and intermediate schools have one confirmed case and three possible cases.
- West Hardin CISD- West Hardin High School has one confirmed case and two possible cases. All three are in the same family.
- Silsbee ISD- Silsbee ISD has two confirmed cases at its elementary school.
12News spoke with health experts who explained how you can protect yourself and your family and stop the spread.
Dr. Paul Giasi with CHRISTUS St. Elizabeth says spikes in whooping cough cases are common every three or more years. But, there are ways to protect yourself and your family.
"It's a very contagious bacterial infection, but it's essentially undistinguishable between a common cold and pertussis," said dr. Giasi.
A small cough could signal a bigger problem, according to Dr. Giasi.
"Pertussis is a protracted illness that usually can last up to weeks. The shortening of the contagious period is usually after they've been diagnosed specifically with the bacteria, but that's only after a prolonged period of time that you would consider that diagnosis," he said.
Symptoms of whooping cough to look out for
Hardin County Health Director Sharon Whitley tells 12News their county is part of a nation-wide outbreak.
"Last year in Hardin County, we had zero cases. This year, they started coming in before Thanksgiving and we've had reported cases every day," Whitely said.
Whitley says all 10 of the county's confirmed cases are school-aged students, with four of the five county school districts being affected.
Whitley also says the outbreak originated from a neighboring county.
"From that neighboring county, we had a infant that was tied to a private sitter. That infant had a sibling that attended one of Lumberton ISD schools," she said.
Whitley says adults who have the tetanus vaccine, or Tdap, are also protected from whooping cough with boosters every 10 years. She recommends children under seven to get the DTaP vaccine to stay protected.
"The students that we have seen are up to date, so most likely, they are being exposed from adults who have not had the vaccine," Whitley said.
Both Dr. Giasi and Whitley agree that prevention before the sickness strikes, can help stop the spread.
"Those who are immunized will have this regardless of their immunization status, but those that are immunized have a much shorter and less severe course," said Dr. Giasi.
Children, the elderly and those who are pregnant are especially susceptible to the virus.
For more information on how to get the vaccine and keep yourself and your family safe, contact your county health services.